


Arisan - The Rising

by Gbean



Series: Draka [2]
Category: Merlin (TV), Merlin - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Space, Bonding, Burns, Conspiracy, Dragon Arthur, Loss of Control, M/M, Powerful Merlin, Prince Merlin, Rituals, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Sexual Content, Shapeshifter Arthur, Soul Bond, Space Battles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-05
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-01-01 07:20:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 41,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1041976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gbean/pseuds/Gbean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Merlin are princes who brought peace to their opposing races through an arranged bonding ceremony. Arthur belongs to a race of dragon shapeshifters. Merlin is the most powerful sorcerer to ever live. The bond between a shapeshifter and a sorcerer is an ancient ritual to keep the sorcerer's magic from flaring out of control. Now that their planet is at peace, it's time for them to set foot on the intergalactic stage. Merlin and Arthur must sail across the stars to protect the home they love. Can Arthur and Merlin survive the battles to come? Is their bond strong enough to reach across the planets?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gawant

**Author's Note:**

> Need to read part 1 "Forlæte - The Surrender" to understand story line
> 
> Old Religion Scale of magic: White/ yellow/ orange/ green/ blue/ purple/ brown/ red/ black/ silver/ gold
> 
> Warnings: severe burns

The message came on a lazy summer day. Arthur and Merlin were curled around each other on the grassy clearing. Their saddle was lying a few feet away, forgotten. Their flight that day had been exhilarating. Arthur's dragon form seemed to glide effortlessly through the skies. His dragon form had increased in strength from absorbing Merlin's potent magic. A single beat of his blood red wings could carry them for leagues. He could throw flames across the skies for minutes at a time. And when Arthur had transformed back into a man after they landed, Merlin had been slightly breathless as the light haloed around his golden bond mate. He had to have him, then and there. Arthur wasn't one to say no or back down from a challenge.  
  
"Do you remember that day when you told the story of Karin and Drake?" They were lying wrapped in each other's arms on the soft grass.  
  
Merlin grimaced. How could he forget that day? It had been his first rise to Alíese - the release of magic, uncontrolled, that plagued his race of sorcerers, the Drakarin. Arthur had saved him that day, pulling Merlin's excess magic into himself through their bond before it could harm Merlin or anyone else. "What about it?" Merlin asked.  
  
"The Drakan tale is different," Arthur said simply before kissing the back of Merlin's neck.  
  
Merlin turned in his arms to face him. "Oh?" the Drakarin prince said archly.  
  
Arthur raised an eyebrow at him, mimicking his expression, "Yeah. You Drakarin are so self-righteous thinking you created the Drakan race - we aren't animals."  
  
Merlin pouted at the insult. Arthur tweaked Merlin's lip with a finger before continuing. "Back then, the Drakan were a roaming clan. Drake was the son of the chief. Drakan have always been part man and part dragon. Our history in that is clear. The stories are the same besides that. The sandstorm winds were so strong that Drake was forced to land. Karin came out to face the storm. Karin's magic went into the Burning before he could subdue the storm. Drake knew he had to help the man or they would be buried alive by the sand, so he pulled Karin's magic into himself and became the first bonded pair."  
  
Merlin was quiet absorbing this information. "Huh, I guess I'll have to rewrite the history books," he said playfully.  
  
Arthur grinned in triumph. "Drake is my ancestor, you know? Pendrakan - 'chief dragon.'"  
  
"Legend says Karin never had any children," Merlin said.  
  
"Because he was already in love with his bondmate." Arthur kissed Merlin's ear in a particularly sensitive spot. Merlin moaned Arthur's name. "Shh, let me take care of you," Arthur whispered as he caressed Merlin and nibbled kisses across his body. Merlin pulled Arthur to his lips and licked at Arthur's lower lip until he opened his mouth. Arthur growled in the kiss.  
  
"Animal," Merlin accused with a grin at the sound.  
  
"You -" Arthur's rebuttal was choked into a gasp of surprise when Merlin reached down low. Any retort was lost as Merlin's long fingers began to work their magic.  
  
They returned to Camelot much later than originally planned, missing dinner completely, but Merlin left to sweet talk the head cook into giving them dinner. Arthur flipped through unread messages when he came across a message forwarded by his father. He sat up straight as he read the message in its entirety.  
  
Merlin walked into the room with a plate laden with food - including all Merlin's personal favorite, such as an exotic yellow-orange fruit that was firm and sweet. Arthur had the castle import them from Ealdor for Merlin. He claimed he bought the fruit so Merlin would shut up. Merlin didn't protest his claim, as behind closed doors he enjoyed the real reason there was a year-long contract with a supplier from the desert city.  
  
"Have you seen this email yet?"  
  
"Hmm?" Merlin set the food on the table and read over Arthur's shoulder. "Oh yeah, I saw that my father had sent something, but I hadn't read it yet."  
  
The message was brief and simple, but was an important missive from the Albion Federation. The Albion Federation was an interstellar ruling body that stretched across five galaxies. The ruling body consisted of the senate of a single representative from each Class 1 and 2 worlds within the limits of the Albion galaxies. It was the belief of the Albion Fleet that planets should take care of establishing peace and stable governments on the planet before they could step up to roles on an interplanetary level. Class 3 -5 planets were dealt with a laissez-faire philosophy and the Albion Federation's only interference was to prevent off-planet invaders from disturbing the planet already steeped in civil turmoil.  
  
The Albion Federation was requesting two representatives from the planet to make an appearance before the interplanetary council and the Emperor. As a class 2 planet, Draka was now allowed certain privileges among the cosmic ruling body. A part of those privileges was a senator seat on the Albion council. Back before the war, the Draka senate seat was held by Arthur's mother, Queen Ygraine. Since her death and the civil war, the seat had remained vacant.  
  
Leading the senate was the Emperor - a position appointed by the previous Emperor upon death or retirement. The Emperor commanded the Albion Fleet and was the final decision on any votes made by the senate. The current Emperor Godwyn had formerly been the senator for the planet Gawant before he had been named heir by the emperor before him. Arthur had never met Godwyn, but he knew that through Ygraine, Uther and Godwyn became close friends and were still in contact today.  
  
"We're going, aren't we?" Merlin asked Arthur.  
  
"Well, Merlin, it was either us or our fathers and I don't think anyone wants to see our fathers stuck on a ship together."  
  
Merlin face twisted into a grimace as he thought about how destructive the two kings would be if placed together. Even at Merlin and Arthur's Forlaete ceremony, the two kings had barely maintained cold civility and had made an effort to speak as little to each other as possible. The peace on Draka now was solely due to Arthur and Merlin.  
  
Arthur summarized some of the details of the message - knowing Merlin had probably skipped the drab details to the end. The capital of the Albion Federation always moved to the home planet of the current emperor, for now, the capital was on Gawant while Godwyn ruled. No matter what planet the capital resided on, it was always named Albion. "The Albion Council has provided transportation to Gawant and accommodations for two representative and six guards. The shuttle leaves in two days from Essetir."  
  
Merlin blew air out through his teeth. "Well, better get packing. How long will the trip take?"  
  
Arthur skimmed the email again. He was frowning and tapping his fingers against the desk in irritation. "A week's travel time at quantum speed. We'll be expected to be present for the opening of the senate a month later. After that, the majority of senator duties can be completed away from the actual senate."  
  
"Six weeks. Alright," Merlin was nodding his head as he thought about what the trip would entail. Nothing Arthur said so far explained the angry expression on his face.  
  
Arthur glared at him, "It's not alright."  
  
Merlin was bewildered by Arthur. What was bothering him so much? He asked as much.  
  
"Merlin, it's been six months since your last Alíese. What happens if...""  
  
Arthur trailed off, not able to get the words out as his nightmares rose to the front of his mind. If he wasn't there, if he didn't make it on time, if...  
  
Merlin wrapped his long, lean arms around Arthur's neck and sat down in the Drakan's lap. "It'll be okay. I'm alright. But just in case, I'll do an Arisan before we leave and we'll find some outlet for the magic while we're away."  
  
"And you know how you are in enclosed spaces. How are you going to sit through a week on the ship?"  
  
"Relax. I'll be fine. Out the window, I'll be able to see all of space. Surely I can't get claustrophobic with such a view?"  
  
Arthur let out the air he had been holding in as he relaxed into Merlin's arms. He buried his face in Merlin's shoulder while Merlin rubbed his back comfortingly. When he finally calmed down, the massage began to arouse him. Arthur moaned into Merlin's neck and kissed the side of the long, swan-like neck of his bonded. "So," Merlin asked quietly, "which of us gets to be Senator?"  
  
Arthur hit Merlin lightly in the arm for asking such an absurd question when there were obviously more important things to be thinking about. Merlin chuckled and dragged Arthur to the bed.

* * *

The next two days flew by quickly. Merlin took a couple of hours to visit his parents in Ealdor before they left. Arthur was an anxious wreck the entire time Merlin was gone. He couldn't focus on the last knight practice before they were to leave. Gwaine made fun of him: "like a bloody mother hen." Arthur decided to take his worry and frustration out against Gwaine which quieted any further attempts to poke fun at the prince. When Merlin appeared in the courtyard, Arthur sighed with relief. He hugged Merlin tightly. "Take me with you next time."  
  
Merlin rolled his eyes, meeting the knight's exasperated glances with his own. "It was only a few hours." Arthur’s only response was to tighten his arms until Merlin felt like he would be crushed between them.  
  
When everything was packed onto the transport vehicle, Arthur's five main knights and Will boarded and set off. Merlin and Arthur would teleport a few hours later. Lancelot gave Gwen a thorough good-bye snog before boarding the transport ship. "When did that happen?" Arthur asked Merlin incredulously.  
  
Will, walking up behind them, said with a smirk, "Life has been moving on while you've been wrapped up in your fairy-tale, Princess."  
  
Arthur scowled at the Drakarin as Will disappeared into the transport ship. "He and Gwaine have gotten to know each other too well," Merlin said thoughtfully.  
  
Arthur snorted, "Understatement."

Arthur had frowned for hours when Merlin informed him Will was coming on the trip. That argument had been one of the worst of their relationship. "It says six guards, Merlin! Not five guards and best friend!" Arthur shouted.  
  
Merlin smiled serenely as if Arthur hadn't been yelling at him. "If you get to take your five best friends, then I'm definitely taking my one friend, alright? Anyway, he's a sorcerer. That's at least two of you shape-shifters."  
  
Arthur's mouth fell open in shock. "You think _Will_ is worth two of my knights?"  
  
"Considering that you all won't be able to shift on a ship - uh, yeah," Merlin said as if it were obvious. "Plus, you're really going to fly away with me on the ship and no other sorcerer backup to keep me from doing some magically stupid thing that you don't know about?"  
  
Arthur couldn't think of a retort against that and settled on a weak: "At least you admit that you do magically stupid things." Arthur spent the rest of the day irritated because Merlin won the argument. Will became Arthur's go-to whenever Merlin was doing some magic that Arthur wasn't sure about. Without Will, Arthur knew there would be a lot more close calls with Merlin. Arthur ended up agreeing anyway because he wanted Percy to come.  
  
Merlin headed into the Old Religion temple after seeing the knights and Will off on the transport ship. Restorations had been completed on the temple only a month ago. Unlike the red sandstone and marble temple of Ealdor and the grey granite temple of the Isle of the Blessed, the Camelot temple was in the woods. Tree trunks lined the area of the temple. Small buildings around the edges provided shelter for the priests and priestesses. Morgana lived in the largest hut at the far end of the temple. It was the temple itself that was most stunning. The tree branches had been interwoven overhead by magic and a giant open air temple building had been constructed. A giant wooden alter was at the end of the temple, made of a large tree trunk stub. The tree that had once stood in its place had been over five feet wide. In the center of the temple, before the altar, was the traditional stone circle of the old religion. Above the circle was a break in the trees and branches providing a clear path to the heavens.  
  
Arthur took a seat at one of the wooden pews lining the temple facing the altar. He clenched his fingers around Merlin's before Merlin dropped his hand and stepped into the stone circle. This was to be the first Arisan in the new temple circle. Morgana appeared silently beside Arthur and took a seat watching the Drakarini eagerly.  
  
This time was no less magnificent than the previous Arisan's that Arthur had witnessed from Merlin. But it was different this time. There was a control to the magic that he hadn't felt before at the Isle of the Blessed a year ago. Merlin meditated for a long time before anything happened. Arthur took the time to pray quietly to the gods of the old religion for protection. He had not grown up serving the Old Religion. It had been introduced to him by Merlin, but Arthur wouldn't turn down the help if the Old Religion chose to offer it. When Arthur felt the magic soar, he opened his eyes to peer around.  
  
The temple filled up in the meantime while he waited. All the priests and priestesses were present as well as what looked like the majority of the Drakarin presence in Camelot and their bondeds. The number of Drakarin living in Camelot had soared since the treaty and Arthur's bonding with Merlin. Still, there were barely enough sorcerers to fill the temple.  
  
The magic crackled into visibility. This was not the barely controlled lightning that had jumped between stones last time. A pure white wall rose between the stones, forming a smooth barrier between outside the circle and Merlin. The energy wall began to shift in colors, rising higher as Merlin progressed through the levels. When the colors hit Merlin's characteristic pearly black - the highest level of magic recorded anywhere in the galaxies - the wall slid up over Merlin to form a dome. Merlin gave one last push of energy and the color of the wall seemed to lighten as more pearl was infused to it. Morgana beside him sucked in air in surprise.  
  
"What?" Arthur asked curiously.  
  
"Well..." Morgana paused to think and gestured at the dome, "It almost looks pearly silver, but we know Merlin's a pearly black." And it did look silver as the pearl continued to overwhelm the black, causing the color to be a shiny grey. Morgana was floored. "It's not possible to increase levels after the coming of age Arisan."  
  
"Not possible, or never been done before?" Arthur asked her quietly as Merlin's dome faded back to black and then descended down the rest of the colors.  
  
Morgana caught the difference of the question and looked thoughtfully at Merlin. "If his magic keeps growing," she ventured uncertainly, "will it ever stop?"  
  
"You're the priestess," Arthur reminded her, having no clue about magic beyond what he'd gathered from Merlin.  
  
When the dome was the original pure white, Merlin released the magic with a grin. Arthur was amused to note that through Morgana's pondering, she spared a minute to be disappointed that the stone circle was unchanged. The crowd that assembled to watch broke apart as Merlin finished his meditations.  
  
Arthur stood up and noticed that sitting on Morgana's other side was a boy with dark brown hair. "Who is this?" he asked curiously.  
  
Morgana, deep in her thoughts, uttered a vague, "huh?", before the question registered. "Oh! Arthur, this is Mordred. He's a ward of the temple. I met him back in Avalon and he wanted to move out here when I did."  
  
Arthur turned to Mordred and held out a hand to the boy. "How do you do? I'm Prince Arthur."  
  
Mordred's attention snapped away from Merlin and the stone circle to look at Arthur. "Hello," Mordred said quietly, shyly returning the handshake. He looked like he was hesitating to say something, when Merlin came up beside Arthur.  
  
"Who is this?" Merlin hunched down to be at eye level with Mordred. "I'm Merlin."  
  
Mordred seemed surprised by Merlin. He met Merlin's gaze and a small smiled curled on his lips. 'Hello Emrys.'  
  
Merlin was startled at the boy's voice in his mind. It felt like Mordred was using the bond between him and Arthur to snake into his head. A quick glance at Arthur showed that Arthur felt the unwanted presence - his spine stiffened and muscles tensed - but he couldn't identify what was causing it. Merlin caught Arthur's gaze and gestured imperceptibly towards Mordred with his eyes.  
  
'How are you in my head?'  
  
Mordred didn't answer. Morgana caught the confused expression on Merlin's face and put a hand on Mordred's shoulder. "Mordred, please return to your lessons now. I believe Aglain is looking for you." Mordred nodded reluctantly. When he was out of sight, Morgana asked, "Was he talking to you?"  
  
"Yeah," Merlin said slowly, slightly spooked by the intrusion on his bond.  
  
"Mordred has always been able to speak through other's bonds. He has a lot of powerful magic. It's not a common skill, but it has been done before." The implied comment toward Merlin propensity of doing impossible things was picked up by Arthur, though Merlin didn't seem to notice or care.  
  
"A ward of the temple?" Arthur asked curiously.  
  
"His parents died in a skirmish a few years back. Drakarin orphans without other family are raised in the temple until they turn twenty-one," Morgana informed him.  
  
Merlin nodded and cast a worried glance in the direction Mordred disappeared, "Take care of him, Morgana. It's hard to have such power - even harder to do it without a family."  
  
Morgana smiled wryly, remembering her own childhood, "Yes, it is difficult, which is why I am here for him. We have each other. If I weren't a priestess, I would probably adopt him."  
  
Arthur's mouth hung slightly open at the fierceness of the statement.  
  
Morgana scoffed at him, "Shut your mouth Arturo Pendrakan." Arthur quickly complied and tried to look apologetic. Merlin noted that it didn't seem to work on Morgana. The priestess switched from playful to serious. "Now, I know you need to go soon, but we have a few things to discuss before you leave for the stars."  
  
Arthur glanced at Merlin curiously. 'What's this about?' he asked as Morgana led them slightly away from other people.  
  
'No idea,' Merlin shrugged. Out loud he asked, "What did you need to talk about, Morgana?"  
  
"You have to be careful out there," she paused and pinned each of them with her gaze, "There are forces that have been moving behind the scenes since Draka last stood on the interplanetary stage and I fear what they may mean."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked with pinched eyebrows.  
  
"Arthur, were you ever told the true circumstances of Ygraine's death?"  
  
Arthur shook his head, eyes wide. Merlin slipped his hand in Arthur's and intertwined their fingers for support. Ygraine's death had been a very well kept secret. Balinor and Nimueh had never spoken of it.  
  
"I'm sorry you have to find out this way, but it's important for you to know to face what is to come. Ygraine was in childbirth. There were complications. She was going to lose the baby - you, Arthur. Uther asked Nimueh to save you. In the middle of the spell, Nimueh's powers slipped into Alíese - it was too much for her. You were saved Arthur, but Uther wasn't able to absorb Nimueh’s release before the power claimed Ygraine."  
  
Arthur sat down heavily as he absorbed this new information. "How do you know this?"  
  
"The High Priestesses can see the past and present easily. It is the future that is shaded from most."  
  
Merlin noticed that Arthur was speechless as he absorbed this information. Arthur didn’t make any indication that he had caught Morgana’s small slip. The future was shaded from most, but Morgana had never been like most others. "Why tell us now, Morgana?” The undercurrent of his question read along the lines of: what did you see in the future?  
  
"Because that event put into motion a war that is still being fought."  
  
"We're at peace," Merlin said slowly, not understanding Morgana's implications.  
  
"Uther's war on magic didn't end with this planet. Ygraine was a beloved Senator across the galaxies. There's a war going on, Merlin, and the Drakarin are at the very center of it."  
  
"But magic is legal," Arthur argued, rejoining the conversation.  
  
"Barely. If you look at interplanetary laws over the past two decades, you'll see a lot of changes with magic. It hasn't affected us until now because as a Class 2 planet we were left alone. We didn't even have viewing access to any interplanetary news until the decision came through recently. I... saw something that concerned me, so I started digging into the databanks researching the changes. Magic has been classified into three ranks in the Albion Federation. Level One: no or slight risk, Two: dangerous, and Three: extremely dangerous. Due to the unstable nature of Drakarin magic, any Drakarin over blue is ranked a Level Three. And you Merlin, are the strongest of all of us - or the most dangerous as they are choosing to view it."  
  
"So what does the rank mean?" Merlin asked slowly.  
  
"Nothing yet. However, there are many poised and willing to wipe out magic if they had the chance. They don't understand us, so they fear us. Your power level is no secret, Merlin - the old religion scale is standardized across many worlds. They fear you most of all. They will try to take you out."  
  
Arthur stated at her, "But they can't - it's against Federation laws to move against a people group without due cause."  
  
"Then we must not give them a cause. Those moving against magic have worded the laws cleverly. Any Level 3 magic or magic user can be classified as a threat to the security of the Federation and eliminated."  
  
"How did I not know about any of this?"  
  
"Because they don't want those with magic to know. All the laws are additions to other documents from the Senate Committee of Security.  
  
"What about Drakan? Where do we fit on this scale?"  
  
"You don't," Morgana said wryly.  
  
"But we're shape shifters! Surely that's considered magic," Arthur said in offense.  
  
Merlin rolled his eyes, "Are you offended that your race isn't being discriminated against?"  
  
"No... I was... just wondering why," Arthur said mollified.  
  
"Magic in the law is defined as the ability to manipulate objects and energy outside of one's physical body. In this way, magical species are protected, only magic users are targeted. Whoever made these laws wanted to be sure that the Drakan race was untouched."  
  
"Who is driving the laws?" asked Merlin.  
  
"I don't know.  But they've got the Security committee in their pocket."  
  
"Could it have been my father?" Arthur said heavily.  
  
"I think we can rule out Uther - even though he started the war, he's been isolated from it. But any of his old friends and colleagues are fair game. Uther and Ygraine were big names across the galaxy back in the day. Be careful - both of you - we don't know who the enemy is here. And Arthur, bring him back in one piece."  
  
Merlin embraced his cousin, "The only way I won't be in one piece is if Arthur harms me himself." Arthur rolled his eyes, but the worried expression stayed fixed on his face as he gave Morgana a hug goodbye before Merlin grabbed his hand and teleported them to the space station.  


* * *

Essetir, the Draka space docking station, underwent several changes since Merlin and Arthur last visited for the reopening ceremony. In the months between, Essetir had become a bustling market for trade as well as the first stop for interplanetary travelers to obtain a visa onto the planet. Merlin looked with wide eyes at the busy market stalls and shoppers. "You can buy anything here!" Merlin gasped with surprise.  
  
"Yeah, including dragon eggs," Arthur said with a frown pointing at a stall across the aisle. He was still too deep in his thoughts about the information Morgana shared to spare much of a glance at the stalls in the market.  
  
"Don't be silly. Those are just stones. And if anyone from our planet is stupid enough to buy them, then they don't deserve to be citizens of Draka." Arthur was still frowning, but let Merlin pull him away. Arthur ended up being the one dragging Merlin through the market once Merlin was distracted by various things that he suddenly needed. "Look Arthur! It's a gemstone to store magic energy! Oh, but you need it in your level color... I wonder if they could get one in pearl black - Hey! Wait! I was going to ask that lady about... Ooh! How about this Arthur! It's a book of positions on - stop! Let me go back! We can use that! Think of all the... Arthur! Did you know we have souvenir action figures! I want one!"  
  
Arthur grimaced. Merlin was like a little kid in a candy store, though Arthur did have to take a second to glance at the action figures before pulling Merlin away. He noted with satisfaction that his action figure could change shapes into a red dragon if the button on the back was pressed like the salesman was demonstrating. The only thing action figure Merlin did was light up his hand in a pattern of changing colors. Arthur felt a small sense of make pride at getting the action hero victory.  
  
Gwaine and Will were lounging around the entrance to docking station 4 at which the ISS Phoenix was anchored. It was with a sense of irony that Arthur realized Will was idly playing with an Arthur action figure.  
  
"Traitor," Merlin sniffed as he walked past.  
  
"Oi, I got it for you!" Will called after him.  
  
Merlin rushed over to Will. "Did I ever tell you that you're my favorite person ever?"  
  
Will pretended to think about whether Merlin deserved the action figure. "Alright, I'll let it slide this once." Will handed Merlin the toy.  
  
Arthur rolled his eyes, "Why do you need an action figure when you already have me?"  
  
Merlin grinned wickedly and Arthur regretted asking when Merlin said, "Because now I can touch you whenever I want."  
  
When Merlin and Arthur boarded the ship, the ship's crew - part of the Albion Fleet - buttoned up the air lock, raised the anchors, and powered up the engines. The ship's captain met them on the main deck and ushered them to their cabins and private areas. Apparently the ISS Phoenix was typically used as Emperor Godwyn's personal ship and so it contained classier cabins than normal on an interplanetary vessel. While none of them were allowed to stay in the Emperor's personal cabins, they did enjoy the nicer cabins of the senate and household members. Apparently, Arthur noted, Godwyn remembered Ygraine enough give her son the honor of using his personal ship.  
  
While Merlin had been originally excited for space travel, he quickly found himself disenchanted. It was true that the window held off the worst of his claustrophobia. Whenever he felt particularly enclosed, he wandered up to the main deck which had screens around the entire level showing the view of space around them. And the sailing was smooth, so it he couldn't blame his dislike on a bumpy ride. In the end, he decided it was the lack of life out in space besides the crew members and his own company.  
  
For a little bit, he experimented with his magic in space. He found that he could send magical energy through space and also draw on energy from surrounding stars and planets as they passed them. After discussion to the captain, he figured out the distance of the things he had drawn magic from and realized that in the vacuum of space, it took less energy to draw magic farther than it did on a planet.  
  
"You know," Arthur said one time when he wandered into the room and caught Merlin peering out the window as he played with his magic, "that studies on magic and space were conducted centuries ago and you can read all about it now."  
  
Merlin frowned at him, "But those studies were only done with red level magic! I'm trying to determine what I can do in space."  
  
Arthur returned the frown, but since he knew personally about how Merlin's magic needed an outlet, he let Merlin do as he wanted. “Just be careful. _Please._ ”  
  
They arrived at the Gawant docking station six days after they departed. A small retinue from the Albion Council was present to escort them onto the planet. The transport ship from the docking station carried them smoothly through the city of Albion, Gawant. Albion was a sparkling city mostly consisting of government buildings. Glittering glass skywalks and a circular track for a high speed transit hover train connected the city. No roads stretched between buildings. The ground level consisted of lush parks and a river snaking through what would have been the main street through the city if the city had roads. Hover vehicles sailed over the trees on their way to various destinations. The skyline stretched towards the heavens in rising buildings showcasing the best architectural skills among the Albion galaxies. A skyscraper with a particularly impressive spire and windows glittering in the sun proved to be the headquarters of the Albion Fleet. Arthur read somewhere that the spire was big enough to communicate messages to all edges of the five galaxies.  
  
At the far end of the city stood the Senate. The Senate was a massive building - it had to be to house all members of the five galaxy Albion Federation. Despite not towering like the skyscrapers, it was easily the largest building in the city. It stood as an imposing stone building against the glittering glass buildings around it. Atop the building was a massive dome glass ceiling that stretched across the Senate Chamber. The remainder of the Senate buildings housed the offices of the various Senators. Across from the Senate, stood the Imperial Palace of Emperor Godwyn. The palace was a gray stone castle with multiple towers. The tiled roof of the towers curved inward to reach high points. While the rest of the city was modern, the Gawant palace had remained for centuries.  
  
The shuttle landed on the grass outside the palace walls. Merlin was glad to be on solid ground again. The air on Gawant was not as fresh as on Draka, but he could feel the life buzzing around him in the air and under his feet.  
  
It wasn't until later that Merlin and Arthur met the Albion Emperor. They were first shown to their quarters during their stay and had time to wash and change. Their first meeting was with the Albion Council, an elite council of Senate members. The Albion Council congratulated Draka on its recent peace treaty and explained the requirements of a class 2 planet in more detail, including the Senate position. Merlin zoned out after the first fifteen minutes. Arthur paid rapt attention to the speakers and filed away the important points to share with Merlin that night.  
  
Godwyn appeared at dinner that night with his daughter Elena. He easily welcomed the two Draka princes and chatted with Arthur for a while about how Uther was doing. Elena sat beside Merlin and tried not to spill food down her dress. When she dropped a bit of sauce on her yellow dress, she rubbed at it frustrated with a napkin, only spreading the sauce stain. “Oh no,” she muttered distressed. While she reached for more napkins, Merlin did a magic cleaning spell to rid the dress of the stain. Elena looked down at the dress with surprise. "Thank you, Prince Merlin." Across the table, Merlin could see Elena's tutor wince at the breach in title protocol, which Elena had no doubt been drilled on many times.  
  
Typical manners held that royal titles were only recognized on the individual's home planet since royal titles vary immensely across the galaxy - with the exception of the position of Emperor. A person of royal rank was addressed as Lord or Lady while away from home. 'Your grace' was the formal address of a Senator while in Albion.  
  
Merlin smiled and cast a thought towards Arthur down the table, 'Oh dear.' Merlin slid his eyes meaningfully toward Elena when Arthur looked his way.  
  
'Before I was bonded to you, Uther and Godwyn entertained thoughts that Elena and I should marry.' Merlin's look of horror was exactly what Arthur was been hoping for and Arthur quickly stifled the laughter that bubbled up.  
  
Merlin and Arthur retired to their chamber after dinner, worn out by the events of the day and being constantly on display. "So..." Merlin started, "what's on your mind? You've been thinking about something since the council meeting earlier."  
  
As if to prove his point, Arthur eyebrows crunched at whatever he was thinking about. "I've been thinking about one of the conditions of a class 2 planet... Military conscriptions to the Albion Fleet are mandatory to be a class 2 planet in the Federation. But, I'm worried that we don't have enough people to meet their standards. Most of your people are either too young or too old. There are simply too few Drakarin of ages that could fight. And we can't send any unbonded Drakarin either because that's a set up for disaster if the Burning happens while on a ship."  
  
Merlin was silent as he listened to Arthur. They talked about how to fix their planet's problems many times in the past. He knew the direction Arthur's thoughts were headed.  
  
"And so a bonded Drakarin of fighting age? That's essentially all the bonded Drakarin we have. Which means the rest will have to be made of Drakan. And that's bad because now the same dilemma occurs that coming of age Drakarin might not have their Drakan bonded on the planet to save them."  
  
Merlin jumped in before Arthur could continue. "How many do they want? We could negotiate. Historically a bonded pair was as advantageous as a platoon of soldiers."  
  
"Yes, but how do we negotiate that?"  
  
Merlin grinned, "We tell them that the rest of the number will be made of unbonded Drakarin. They should know what that means."  
  
Draka was famous among the planets. Centuries ago, the first Emperor of Albion had been a Drakan known as Bruta with his bonded sorcerer wife Ignoge. Bruta had been a direct descendant of Drake. He had lived at a time of war among the planets. As a great warrior, he conquered those that rose against him until he orchestrated peace among the five galaxies and founded the Albion Federation. Through Bruta's fame in song and legend, everyone knew about the race of sorcerers and their bonded Drakan shapeshifters.  
  
In battle, a bonded pair could do twice the damage - an aerial fighting machine of fire, claws, and magic. In the past, Draka warriors created many victories for the Albion Federation. Drakarin sorcerers were the strongest magic users anywhere, but also held the infamy of the most unstable magic. The tendency for Drakarin magic to spin out of control and the necessity of the bond had been romanticized among fiction, media, and films of other planets across the galaxies. Merlin would never admit to reading one of the raunchiest bond mate novels to get ideas for him and Arthur. It was a sore point among the residents of Draka. The Drakarin did not find the fact that their sons and daughters could die at twenty-one or after without a bond mate romantic in any way. Of course, if Morgana was to be believed, not everyone romanticized a race of sorcerers with magic powerful enough to wipe out another planet if the urge came along.  
  
Only a few other planets held similar powers -and even then the magic wasn't as powerful or all encompassing. Draka was the place where the Old Religion scale had been invented - one of the few places a sorcerer greater than skill level blue existed and survived. The other races with strong sorcerers ended up sacrificing something in lieu of a bondmate, such as elementals who gave up other magical disciplines to focus on a single type of magic in order to control their powers.  
  
Arthur grinned at Merlin's idea. "Not a bad strategy. It just might work."  
  
"So what about the Senate position?"  
  
"It's a lifelong position until death or retirement. It is up to the planet's discretion to make it an elected position. Though historically, Draka always gives the position to royalty even if there is a vote."  
  
"We should make it a vote. Open the position to anyone who wants to try for it."  
  
"It'll end up being a competition between you and I, and I don't think that will be good for peaceful relations between our people."  
  
"I don't want it," Merlin said simply. Arthur looked at him in surprise, so Merlin explained. "I'm not good at sitting in a council and making decisions about somewhere I've never been. I'm a hands-on person. I rule my people from what I know - what I've seen and heard from being out there with them. I would zone out every meeting. This position is much better suited to you, Arthur.  
  
"Alright. We'll send messages to our fathers tomorrow. The vote needs to be taken within three weeks time, leaving enough time for the new Senator to arrive here from Draka. We should probably mention the military requirement and ask to spread the word. We'll see how many responses we get back."  


* * *

The following day, Arthur tried to negotiate with the Senate. The Senators were an obstinate group and quickly dismissed any request Arthur pitched. Merlin was as angry as Arthur when the Senate Committee for Armed Forces refused to listen to them.  
  
Back in the privacy of their own rooms, Arthur vented his frustrations loudly. Merlin quietly seethed until an idea came to him. "I think -" he ventured, and Arthur ceased yelling to listen, "I think that the Senate has forgotten what it means to be a Drakarin. Perhaps we could give them a show?"  
  
"You mean an Alíese?"  
  
Merlin nodded. Arthur instantly rebelled at the idea. "No. Remember what Morgana said? We don't want to give anything for them to use to claim you're a threat."  
  
"It'll be controlled - just a light show really."  
  
Merlin waited patiently for Arthur to think through all the possibilities. Finally, Arthur rubbed a hand through his hair in worry and he sighed, "No, I don’t like it.”

Merlin waited a day or two before he began the process of wearing Arthur down to agree with him. Victory came after another meeting with the Senate Committee of Armed Forces. “Alright, we’ll try it,” Arthur said reluctantly.  
  
Merlin promised Arthur that it would be a fake Alíese. Merlin would be in control of the magic the whole time. Will profusely claimed it was a bad idea to Arthur, but Arthur didn't have any other ideas to get the council to listen. It was unreasonable for the Senate to demand so much from a planet that was just recovering from years of civil unrest.  
  
To make it believable, Merlin knew they needed a bit of time to pass since they brought up the subject to the council. In the meantime, they worked on arranging the vote for Senate. Only one person decided to run against Arthur for the Senate position - Nimueh.  
  
"You won't have any trouble winning," Merlin assured Arthur. "Most Drakarin don't particularly like her anyway. Some think she's snobby and others hate her cause they blame her for the war whether it was her fault or not."  
  
Two weeks after their arrival on Gawant, Election Day arrived on Draka. Since the planet times were not synchronized, the vote would take place while it was night on Gawant. Arthur tossed and turned all night, his mind nervously racing with what ifs. Merlin hit him on the side to stop him from rolling over again. 'Stop it.' Arthur stilled, but he couldn't stop his thoughts. Merlin decided to distract him the best way he knew how and pulled Arthur to him for a deep kiss. Arthur moaned and rolled them so he was lying on top of Merlin, holding himself slightly up with a forearm to not crush the lithe man beneath him. Merlin trailed kisses down Arthur's neck, giving a few small bites as he went. Merlin smiled into the kiss when Arthur growled throatily. Arthur was distracted for the remainder of the night until he fell into a blissful sleep from exhaustion  
  
Arthur and Merlin woke up to messages congratulating Arthur on his landslide victory for the Senate position. He would officially be instated as Draka Senator on the opening day of the Senate.  
  
The weeks before the Senate reconvened passed quickly. Merlin and Arthur were taken to all the big tourist sights on the planet by Emperor Godwyn and Elena. Merlin fell into an easy friendship with Elena. She was quite a brilliant woman once you moved passed her clumsiness. With Godwyn, Arthur found a unique opportunity to learn about his mother. Uther rarely spoke of Ygraine, but Godwyn readily entertained Arthur of stories of his mother. Arthur hung onto every word Godwyn told him, feeling for the first time that he had a connection to his mother.  
  
"Ygraine was a wonderful woman," Godwyn told him. "She wasn't afraid to stand up for why was right. She took on the entire Senate one time to defend a planet that was on the verge of collapse. The Senate easily dismissed it as a Class 5 planet, but Ygraine made that planet her mission. Neahtid, I believe it was called. It's now a class 2 planet from her efforts - you'll probably have a chance to meet Senator Taliesin, in a few days. "  
  
Merlin enjoyed Gawant, but he was ready to wrap things up on the planet and return home. In private, he had been practicing the best way to fake the Alíese. There wasn't a good way. Will was right in that it wasn't a good idea. Merlin didn't tell Arthur any of his hesitance after Merlin realized how impractical the whole façade would be. Merlin knew that they had to do something for the good of their people and he was out of better ideas. Nothing too bad could go wrong anyway, because Arthur would be right beside him the whole time.  
  
The city of Albion filled up as the Senators and their entourages began pouring into the capital. Arthur was impressed by the variety of the Senate members. Humans to the speaking stags of Ascetir to centaurs to the wispy, glowing Euchdag with their egg-shaped heads. The Euchdag were renowned as the keepers of all knowledge in Albion and were led by their famous Senator Diamair. Arthur gagged at the stench of Senator Catrina, leader of the trolls of Tregor, and he frowned at the goblins of Ashkanar, famed for their hoards of wealth and the only remaining dragon egg in existence. It had been a historical point of tension between Draka and Ashkanar that the egg actually belonged to Draka, as the historical home of dragons. Merlin was enchanted with the water sprites of Villia, who were carted around in bowls of water. The only race Merlin disliked were the scorpion-like Serkets of the planet known as the Darkling Wood because the actual name of the planet could not be pronounced in the common tongue due to its indiscernible clicks. They reminded Merlin too much of the insects he grew up fearing in the desert.

The day before the Senate met, Godwyn held a large banquet for all the returned Senate members. Even though Arthur and Merlin were no longer seated at the head table - due to all the higher ranking Senate members who sat there now, their table received many visitors throughout the night. Some of the Senators approached to speak to Arthur. They remembered Senator Ygraine Pendragon and were glad to see Draka at peace once again and her son stepping up to her legacy. Others approached to meet Merlin. Many planets around the galaxies were practitioners of the old religion and gossip about the strongest warlock ever had spread through the Old Religion temples like wildfire. When one of the senators asked for a magic display, Merlin easily agreed. Arthur watched him warily.

Over their weeks in Gawant, Arthur didn’t notice any of the antagonism toward magic that Morgana had warned them about. Arthur tried to be vigilant about any possible threats toward magic, because he knew that the greatest threat from someone against magic would be a move against Merlin. Merlin’s fame among the galaxies had grown beyond their mutual fame of saving Draka through their bonding. Other magical races were beginning to look to him as a leader. It would be easy to strike a blow to the magic community by harming Merlin.

Merlin put up quite the show for the Senators. Before Merlin put his plan into action, he mind spoke to Arthur, 'Relax. It's not real.' Arthur nodded his understanding and Merlin allowed the real show to begin. Arthur could feel Merlin's magic ramping up, but Arthur was distracted by a hand landing on his shoulder. He turned to face an old Senator with a short grey beard. "Young man, if I may introduce myself, I am Taliesin of Neahtid. I knew your mother once. It's an honor to speak to her son. She was a great woman."  
  
Arthur was surprised to see the Senator that Godwyn mentioned earlier and easily fell into conversation with Taliesin, who jumped into an explanation of all that Ygraine had done for his planet.  
  
Merlin felt his magic soar. On Gawant, he didn't have much time to practice, so it was great to let it out so freely. And then he felt the click, like a piece sliding out of place or a train sliding off a track. 'Arthur,' he called worriedly.  
  
'Not now, Merlin. Can you hold off for five minutes?'  
  
Merlin could tell by Arthur's distracted thoughts that Arthur wasn't focused on him at all. 'I don't think so... Arthur?' The Drakan prince had shut his thoughts off, clamping down on the signals from the bond.  
  
Arthur was slightly irritated. Couldn't Merlin wait another five minutes for him to wrap up his conversation with the Senator? To focus on Taliesin, Arthur closed off the bond in his mind. He was turned away from the center of the room, so he didn't see the fear on Merlin's face.  
  
Will was watching Merlin lazily. He told Merlin that faking an Alíese was a bad idea, but it looked like Merlin had decided to go through with his plan. It was a pretty good act, Will thought. Merlin was beginning to glow and the fear he was faking on his face was perfect. The crowd gasped and moved away from the Drakarin. It was a long minute and the glow continued to increase. Will sent a glance at Arthur and realized the Drakan wasn't even watching Merlin. Of course the whole thing was fake. At least, that's what Will thought until Merlin let out a choked scream and yelled, "Alíese!" The power flared and the flames became real. Merlin screamed. Will was out of his seat moving towards the burning man before he could think.  
  
Arthur was deep in conversation with Taliesin when the man had frowned at the room behind him and pointed. "I believe there is something wrong with your bonded."  
  
Arthur turned in time to see Merlin yell out the spell to release the magic, screaming as flames took him. He opened the bond and felt the magic flaring wildly. "Merlin," he gasped and jumped over the table to run to the sorcerer. Arthur drew the power into him. Distracted by the bond he didn't see the chair in front of him and he tripped, falling to the floor. The magic he had pulled in so far was ripped back out of his grasp as his head slammed into the stone floor. The magic reacted violently.

Around Will the knights were in a panic. Arthur wasn’t moving and Merlin was about to go nuclear. Percy grabbed Will around the middle. “Do something!” he screamed at Percy.

Percy roared back his helplessness, “ _I can’t!_ Only Arthur can stop him!”  
  
Merlin saw Arthur trip and fall through the haze of pain. 'Arthur!' He screamed through the bond. Arthur was lying still with his arm outstretched toward Merlin. What little magic Arthur had absorbed instantly bounced back to Merlin. It was too much. Merlin had to get out of here now or he was going to take the whole building with him. He flung a hand toward Arthur and pulled. Arthur's body lifted into the air and flew to the sorcerer. As soon as Arthur reached him, Merlin seized his wrist and teleported them far outside the castle and the city. He vaguely recognized it as a place they had visited on a picnic a week before. With the last bit of his willpower, Merlin flung a healing spell at Arthur. Fire raced up his spine as the magic slid back out of control. The magic released with a resounding boom as the explosion rocked the earth. It hurt. Burning. Was that him screaming? He couldn’t feel his legs or arms anymore. His face was on fire. Merlin gasped and breathed a lungful of smoke. The pain overwhelmed him and gratefully sank into the darkness as an escape from the pain.  
  
Arthur's head swam as he woke to the smell of flesh burning. He gagged violently at the stench. The heat was almost unbearable. He scrambled to his feet clumsily. Wincing at the protest his head made at the quick motion. Looking towards the source of the burning, Arthur cried in shock when he realized his bond mate was lying there, still, as his skin glowed and the flames licked at his body. Through the bond, Arthur could still feel the magic building. It was as if Merlin was still fighting even though he was unconscious. Arthur grabbed a hold of the strands of magic he could feel and began yanking the magic into himself. Arthur's eyes flared wide as the power infused in the strands entered his body. Without a care for the flames, Arthur grabbed Merlin's arm. As soon as he touched the skin, the flames flickered out.  
  
Yanking off his shirt, he pulled Merlin's body to him. Merlin's clothes were gone, burnt to shreds hanging loosely from his frame. The flames went out instantly though the glowing skin remained. He could see Merlin's eyes glowing bright gold through his closed eyelids, creating an eerie red effect. Arthur pulled Merlin a few feet away from the burning grass he had been laying on, gasping with the effort. His head swam uncertainly and he forced himself to stay conscious. Arthur absorbed the magic as quickly as he could, not bothering to give it back to Merlin because the last thing Merlin needed at the moment was more magic. Tears slipped out of his eyes as he continued pulling in the magic. "Come on, wake up. I need you to wake up. You're stronger than this..." his voice cracked on a sob.  
  
Finally the glowing skin faded, but instead of the pale skin Arthur was used to, Arthur's breath hitched as black and angry red flesh was revealed. When the red glow through Merlin's closed eyelids disappeared, Arthur gave into the black that had been haunting the corners of his vision.  


* * *

Arthur woke up slowly, wincing as the throbbing the echoed through his head. Though his head was pounding, his body hummed with energy. He looked around the hospital room. He was alone with the startling white walls. His wrist was bandaged and throbbed in time with his head. The beep of the heart monitor echoed the panic in his heart as he remembered what had happened last. Where was Merlin? He reached through the bond to find only darkness.  
  
The quick increase of the heart monitor must have sent out an alert because within a few moments a nurse was walking into the room. "Senator Pendragon?" she asked uncertainly.  
  
"Where's Merlin?" he asked instantly, jumping on the chance for information.  
  
The woman bit her lip. "I'm not supposed to reveal patient information to-"  
  
"I'm his fucking bonded. That's closer than family. Where is he?" Arthur asked with a dangerous tone to his voice. Arthur's heart thudded painfully in suspense.  
  
The woman nodded slowly. "Lord Emrys Drakarin is in the ICU. He sustained many third degree burns over his body..."  
  
Arthur closed his eyes in horror as the woman catalogued Merlin's injuries. "Will he live?"  
  
The woman hesitated, "It's uncertain. We're bringing in the best healer we can find."  
  
Arthur hadn't made it in time. He had failed Merlin. "Please," he croaked, "take me to him."  
  
Arthur's vision swam dizzily when he stood from the bed and he had to grab the bed rail for support. The nurse quickly brought a hover-chair and showed Arthur out of the room. Three of his knights were sitting on the floor and instantly got to their feet as their prince appeared. Arthur nodded at them but didn't say anything. There was only one person who mattered right now. The nurse guided him down the halls, down the lift to the ICU floor as the knights followed behind, and into a room. Will, Percy, and Gwaine sat slumped in a few chairs in the room. Merlin lay on the bed, no sound except a faint wheezing breath and the steady heart monitor. Arthur looked at the arm lying above the sheet, it was wrapped in bandages. The only bit of skin visible was on Merlin's face, which was scaly with blisters. Through his heartbreak, Arthur spared a moment of surprise that Merlin's hair had miraculously survived the fire when his body so obviously had not. Arthur hung his head in despair and stood up from the hover-chair and moved to Merlin's bed shakily. Gwaine vacated his seat and pulled the chair up to the bedside for Arthur. The knights filed out quietly, leaving Arthur with Merlin and Will.  
  
Arthur reached through the bond, 'Merlin. I'm sorry. I wasn't there. I promised you I'd always be there. Please wake up.' Tears slid out of Arthur's eyes as he watched his lover lie listlessly on the bed. Will placed a comforting hand on Arthur's and opened his mouth to speak before his words failed him. Arthur pulled Will to him and cried into the man's shoulder. The wetness on his own neck told him that Will was crying just as much.  
  
An hour or so later, Will and Arthur were out of tears and turned red eyes to the door when the doctor stepped in with a man following him. Arthur recognized Taliesin instantly and his mind jumped to those last few moments before Merlin's magic exploded. If he had listened to Merlin...  
  
The doctor was saying something about healing. Arthur wasn't paying attention. Taliesin moved towards the bed and Arthur moved defensively to stop him. Taliesin's voice halted Arthur. "I am a seer and a healer. Gold level, I believe you would say, though I gave up all other crafts of magic to be able use these ones without consequence. Lord Emrys will not die this day."  
  
Arthur nodded and moved back to allow Taliesin to look at his bonded. Taliesin placed his hands on Merlin's chest. " _Wel cene licsar_." Taliesin's eyes glowed orange as the finished. Arthur watched in wonder as the skin on Merlin's face smoothed over to the same porcelain color he knew and loved. Merlin's breaths evened out and became deeper as the internal burns in his lungs healed as well. Taliesin nodded at the doctor and moved back. The doctor slowly began unwrapping Merlin's bandages to reveal soft, smooth skin.  
  
"Thank you," Arthur sighed with relief.  
  
"He is only sleeping now," Taliesin assured him. "Now about your own wounds-"  
  
"I don't want healing," Arthur interrupted, covering the wrapped wrist to prove his statement. Taliesin slowly nodded watching him intently, before he left the room. The doctor finished taking off Merlin's bandages - carefully checking the former wounds.  
  
When he finished, the doctor turned to Arthur. "Let me re-wrap your burn, Your Grace." The doctor spread more ointment across the angry red skin lining Arthur's wrist and forearm in the shape of a hand with long fingers. After carefully wrapping the burn again, the doctor checked Arthur's head wound. Declaring Arthur to be fine, he left instructions with Arthur for dealing with head wounds and a prescription for the burn ointment.  
  
Everyone except for two knights (who were allowed to stay as bodyguards) and Arthur were told to leave the hospital as visiting hours ended. Arthur rubbed his burnt wrist gently and settled into the chair beside Merlin for the night. His unhurt hand was intertwined with Merlin's fingers. Every two hours, one of the knights shook Arthur awake as per the doctor's instructions. A tightening of fingers around his hand woke him up at one point of the night. "Merlin?" Arthur asked softly.  
  
'Arthur,' Merlin confirmed speaking in Arthur's head.  
  
"Oh thank the gods." Arthur leaned over to kiss Merlin's hand. Merlin's hand freed itself and gently touched Arthur's face.  
  
Merlin's eyes roamed over Arthur and settled on the bandaged wrist. Arthur followed his gaze. Merlin stretched out a hand to it. "I don't want it healed," Arthur said quickly.  
  
'Stop it,' Merlin said, 'This isn't your fault. You can't blame yourself.' Arthur sighed and nodded. Merlin reached for the wrist again. Arthur pulled away once more.  
  
"No, Merlin. This can heal the normal way. You need to rest." Merlin frowned, but sleep claimed him again before he could argue further.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I changed the name of the Draka space station to Essetir. Hope this doesn't confuse anyone. I originally chose Mercia because is sounded like merchant and the space station is a giant market, but Essetir made more sense as Cenred runs it...


	2. ISS Griffin

Merlin was released from the hospital the following day and was allowed to rest in their rooms in the castle. Though his body quickly recovered, he discovered that his magic was completely burnt out. It would take a while for the power to settle back. It was a disconcerting feeling. He had never been without his magic. It was unnerving to reach for it and not sense the power hovering under his skin.

Despite not actually having the magic to complete the task, he still tried to get Arthur to accept to have the burns on his wrist healed. The blisters had faded leaving red shiny skin in their place. “I thought dragons couldn’t burn,” Merlin goaded.

Arthur whacked him on the shoulder. “I don’t think magical fires count.”  
  
Arthur was summoned to appear before the Senate and reluctantly left Merlin with Will. He missed the formal opening of the Senate and was presented in front of the assembled representatives as the new Senator from Draka. He dutifully voted on the issues brought up, but his thoughts were with his bond mate asleep in their rooms. After a break, the Senate broke up into the separate committees. Arthur was asked to report Armed Forces Committee.  
  
"Senator Pendragon, we are glad to see you here in good health and we are happy to hear of the recovery of you bondmate, Lord Emrys Drakarin," a severe woman with fading red hair addressed. Arthur recognized as Annis, queen and senator of the planet Caerleon. "It was suggested that you be a member of the Armed Forces Committee, if you will accept the position."  
  
Arthur was slightly stunned that someone had recommended him and accepted the offer gratefully.  
  
"Now," Annis said, "we will begin by addressing the Draka plea for negotiation on the armed forces requirement of a Class 2 planet. The Armed Forces Committee recognizes the request of the planet 5-ram-K of the Daesum galaxy, also known as Draka, and welcomes Senator Pendragon to speak on its behalf. The Committee rejects the former proposal submitted and offers a counter proposition if you will hear it, Senator."  
  
Arthur nodded and looked at the other members of the thirty person council. The council was made of the best military minds and strategists of the five Albion galaxies, not only senators.  
  
Annis nodded at a man with critical, intelligent eyes and a neatly trimmed beard that was starting to grey. Arthur recognized him as Commander Ruadan of the Albion Fleet, famed for his conquests against invaders and pirates. Ruadan stood up to speak, instantly directing the attention of the room. "In light of recent events, the Committee has reconsidered the potential of Draka. First point of the proposal is that only bonded pairs, Drakan, or unbounded Drakarin of green or lower magic level are allowed to become members of the Albion Fleet. We hope that this condition will protect the well-being of the planet and the Drakarin race. Second, the Committee requires all military conscriptions from Draka to be voluntary considering the inherent risks to a Draka resident to enlist." The risks were not clarified, but the committee members knew what had happened when Arthur had been knocked out before he could help Merlin.  
  
Ruadan continued his speech, "Included in enlistment is basic military training, a minimum two Albion-year contract, and wages for the soldiers. Bonded pairs will be kept together for the duration of military service. Should a Drakan bond mate perish in duty, the surviving Drakarin will be immediately returned to the planet Draka. Officially, Draka has no lower limit to enlistment requirements, but I advise you, it would be wise for Draka to maintain a presence in the Albion Fleet.” Arthur recognized the subtle threat from the committee if Draka provided no enlistees – it need not be spoken.

“Are these terms acceptable to Draka?” Annis asked critically. “I must warn you, the Committee may not be willing to reconsider another time.”  
  
Arthur thought the terms over carefully. "Draka will submit to the Committee's proposal."  
  
Annis nodded, "Settled then. Next order of business..."

Merlin awoke to a loud crash and Will yelling obscene curses. After Arthur left for the Senate, Merlin had decided it would be best to lay down for a nap. His energy had yet to return despite the physical injuries being healed.

When the curses continued followed by more crashes, Merlin hauled himself out of the bed to check on his friend. “What’s going on…?” Merlin trailed off as he took stock of the room. The sight that greeted him when he opened the door was not what he expected at all. The room was in shambles – broken furniture and glass everywhere. Merlin followed the trail of destruction with his eyes in time to see Will slam a glass vase over a masked man’s head, knocking the man out completely. Merlin counted two other bodies lying on the floor. Will looked up at Merlin and grinned sheepishly. The front door barged open at that moment and Percy and Gwaine fell into the room.

“You’re a bit late,” Will remarked dryly with a rough voice, motioning with his hand to the three men unconscious.

Percy gaped at the scene. “What happened?” Gwaine asked Merlin incredulously.

“Not sure. I was sleeping. Will? Can you shed any light on this situation?”

Will dropped the remains of the vase unceremoniously. “Assassins,” he said nonchalantly.

“Well I didn’t think they were thieves,” Merlin said sarcastically.

“I was minding my own business reading one of those raunchy bond mate novels I found in Merlin’s luggage – ” Merlin flushed bright red and his eyes threatened murder. Will cleared his throat and focused his attention on the knights, “– and then there’s a rope around my neck and someone’s choking me.” Will lifted his chin to show the bruises on his throat. “So I did what I do best and threw them with magic and he just happened to take out the coffee table with him. Then this second man comes at me with a sword, so I chucked the couch at him. And apparently the third guy was heading to Merlin’s room and he was distracted when Merlin opened the door, so I hit him on the head with the vase.”

The man on the floor at Will’s feet moaned and stirred. Will took a look at the remains of the vase in his hand, shrugged, and smashed it over the man’s head again. Merlin sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’m going back to bed,” he said before disappearing back into the dark room.

Gwaine shook his head at the scene, “Arthur’s not gonna like this.”

The truth of Gwaine’s statement was realized later when Arthur came back from the Senate meetings he had been at all day. He was in the height of fury. The assassins had already been removed and restrained in custody of the Imperial guard. His knights had done their duty of cleaning up the mess and interrogating the perpetrators, everything except – “Why the _bloody hell_ did no one come to get me?”

Gwaine and Percy looked away sheepishly. Arthur waited patiently for an answer, eyes steady on the two, causing them to shuffle nervously. “We didn’t want to leave Merlin on his own?” Gwaine ventured carefully.

Arthur growled, glaring at them a moment more before rolling his eyes and turning away. “So what did the interrogation reveal?” Arthur asked Leon.

“Not much. Instructions from an anonymous source, paid out of a bank account that doesn’t exist anymore.”

Arthur huffed in frustration. The Imperial guard had claimed jurisdiction over the assassins since the attempt had been made on Imperial property to a guest of the Emperor. Arthur was left with no other opportunity to question the assassins himself other than the small amount of time his men received. He forced himself to calm down and think rationally. He was still furious that only Will had been in the apartment when the attack had occurred. The assassins most likely watched the rooms until they saw Gwaine and Percy leave, thinking that the way to Merlin was left clear. Arthur had no doubts that the attack went back to the groups that Morgana had warned them about. Every person who was against magic would be gunning for Merlin after the display at the banquet. The bastards – coming after Merlin when he was weak.

Arthur caught sight of Will slipping out of the bedroom into the living area of the rooms. “What’s Merlin doing now?” Arthur asked calmly,

“Still sleeping,” Will chimed from the doorway.

“Alright, I want someone keeping an eye on the assassins tonight. I guarantee that they’ll either escape or someone will stop by to quiet them permanently tonight. I want someone making sure that neither of those options comes to pass. I want a 24 hour guard rotation on Merlin starting now. And you don’t leave your post from him for anything – I don’t care if you’re starving or about to piss yourself!” The knights cowered under Arthur’s furious glare and nodded sheepishly. Arthur left the knights to sort out the duties amongst themselves and entered the bedroom.

Merlin was curled in a fetal position on the bed, a blanket pulled tightly around him. Arthur involuntarily cracked a smile at the adorable picture he made. Arthur quietly padded over to the bed and laid down beside Merlin, pulling him gently into his chest. Merlin awoke much as a cat would – sleepy eyes cracking open, humming in contentment, and yawning before he truly awoke. Merlin turned in Arthur’s arms to face him and studied Arthur’s closed expression. “Not your fault,” Merlin said, easily breaking through all of Arthur’s carefully constructed barriers to Arthur’s emotions.

Arthur closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against Merlin’s, shaking his head minutely.

“Not your fault,” Merlin repeated again.

“I almost lost you for a second time. What if –“ Arthur’s voice cracked on the words. “I can’t lose you.”

Merlin placed a finger over Arthur’s mouth. “I’m fine. Stop this. I’m not a damsel in distress. I know how to defend myself.”

Arthur sighed and nodded at Merlin’s words. This wasn’t the first time since the accident the other day that they held this discussion. He gently kissed the finger Merlin held to his lips. “Alright...” Arthur seemed to search for more words before he sighed out another, “Alright.”

Merlin nodded satisfied and leaned in for a kiss. He pulled back and grinned mischievously at Arthur. “I told you Will was worth two of your knights.” Arthur’s thunderous expression caused Merlin to laugh until Arthur got annoyed and silenced him with another kiss.

  
"It's what we wanted, yeah?" Merlin asked as they lay next to each other discussing Arthur’s latest meeting with the Senate. It was their last night on Gawant before returning to Draka. There had been no more attempts on Merlin’s life and the week had been relatively uneventful. Arthur spent the week in numerous Senate meetings, while Merlin and the knights surreptitiously did some digging into who was responsible for the attack.

Merlin had barely seen Arthur between his various meetings and Arthur normally stumbled into their room late in the evening long after dinner, mumbling furiously about whatever bill or sanction the senate was voting on. Merlin’s magic had returned over the week – though it was not nearly as abundant as before -and along with it his energy had risen. Arthur was caught by surprise the previous night when Merlin had sent off the excess energy in his sleep last night while dreaming. It was the first wet dream of its kind in a long time – since they began to be intimate with each other. It woke Arthur out of the fog he had been living in for the past week where he had been treating Merlin as if he was made of porcelain – about to crack at any moment.

When Arthur had stalked in early from the days meetings and told Merlin they were heading out, Merlin was pleasantly surprised by the change.  In an attempt to burn off the energy still coursing through his veins absorbed from the Alíese, Arthur flew to a secluded spot hours away from the city of Albion. There he had proceeded to apologize to Merlin for the neglect until both of them were thoroughly spent and exhausted in a blissed-out way. It was quiet except for the sound of their breathing, the muted roar of the waterfall in the background, and the steady chirp of the night insects. One of Gawant’s two moons lit the night sky enough that Merlin could see Arthur’s expressions. They were completely alone out here and Arthur finally relaxed.  
  
"Yes," Arthur said in response to Merlin’s question about the Senate meetings, but there was a hesitance to his response.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
Arthur buried his face into Merlin's shoulder for a few minutes. Merlin was silent and let Arthur form the words. "I'm a warrior, Merlin. I've trained my whole life to fight. I've fought off bandits and even a few attacks from Drakarin renegades before we had peace. I've always led my men. I..." Arthur shifted up and crystal blue met deep blue eyes. "Merlin, I can't ask any of my people to fight without being willing to go myself."  
  
Merlin searched Arthur's face and nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Okay, what?" Arthur asked confused.  
  
"You just asked me to enlist in the Albion Fleet with you."  
  
"No! I didn't. I don't want you anywhere near the Albion Fleet," Arthur said vehemently. He quickly banished the thoughts of Merlin getting injured during battle before he worked himself into a panic.  
  
Merlin sighed, "Arthur, I go where you go. I think it became clear a week ago that I literally may not be able to survive without you." Merlin gently ran a finger along Arthur's wrapped wrist and kissed it softly - the only reminder of their close call. Under the bandages the skin had still blistered, though the startling red had faded to a pinkish hue.  
  
Arthur groaned in frustration, "I know. But if there's a place that you don't belong, Merlin, it's on ship."  
  
"I can deal with it. I know this is important to you. Our fathers won't like it. Senate probably won't either. I don't know if a Senator has ever enlisted after becoming a part of the Senate."

"No they won't like it either."  Arthur admitted quietly.

“We’ll just… tell them our reasons and maybe they’ll see some merit to Albion military service.” Merlin and Arthur didn't have to comment aloud to each other how much easier it sounded in theory. “Plus, it won’t be my first military training. I’ll have you know I am an officer of the Drakarin Mage Corps.”

“They let Drakarin in the military before they turn 21?” Arthur asked, surprised, since he knew about the special blocks the priests placed on young Drakarin to keep the magic in check until their Arisan ceremony.

“Eh,” Merlin said deliberately avoiding an answer.

Arthur pierced Merlin with his gaze. “Merlin…”

“I was a… special case. It’s tradition for the Drakarini to serve and since – with the treaty – I would be going to live in Camelot after I turned 21 – well that and I was strong enough already even with the last block on my magic – they – the royal councilors – decided it would be alright if I did a two year stint after I finished school at 18.”

Arthur took a minute to make sense of Merlin’s jumbled, run-on sentence. “So have you ever fought?” Arthur asked slowly, not believing that Merlin had ever been in a battle or skirmish.

“Yes!” Merlin said with vehemence, hurt that Arthur doubted him. “Just as you were putting down skirmished between our people on your side of the border, I was doing the same on mine.”

Arthur was surprised. He had never been told any of this. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think it was a secret. I thought you already knew. I was briefed on you before the Forlæte ceremony and I thought you had been too.” Merlin looked at Arthur carefully, “Or maybe someone was too grumpy and upset to pay attention.” Arthur growled at Merlin for so easily pointing out the truth and then he felt ashamed that Merlin had brought up how unwilling Arthur had been about their bonding. “Don’t worry, Arthur, I wasn’t too happy about it at the time either.”

Arthur smiled gratefully at Merlin for diffusing the mood. “So, how was it – serving in the Drakarin…” Arthur trailed off, not remembering the name.

“Mage Corps?” Merlin finished for him helpfully. “Fine, I suppose. I didn’t like using magic in that way, but I did what I had to protect my men and country. It helped that Will was there. He always knew if things got difficult.”

“Will went with you?”

“Oh, yeah,” Merlin said easily, “Will has always been at my side. Will is still an active member of the Corps. He does have a job, you know, he doesn’t just laze about – but he has the distinction of being my official bodyguard.”

Arthur’s mouth went slack with disbelief. “ _Will_ is your bodyguard?”

“Duh,” Merlin said, “As if my parents would let me leave Ealdor without a bodyguard. It just helps that he’s also my best friend.”

Arthur shook his head in disbelief. “I thought he was your personal servant.”

“Honestly, you can be thick at times. I told you he was worth more than you give him credit for. Will’s never been my servant. It’s not his fault your staff got his title wrong on the household roster. Will decided it was better to keep his position anonymous, so we never corrected anyone.”

Arthur huffed, slightly annoyed at the revelations of the night, and rolled to his feet. “Come on. Let’s head back.” Merlin let Arthur haul him up and they walked for a few minutes in silence until they reached the clearing where Arthur had landed. Their saddle lay abandoned in the grass. Arthur dropped to his hands and knees shifting easily into his dragon form. Arthur waited patiently for Merlin to loosen the straps before Merlin levitated it into the air onto Arthur’s back. The saddle settled too far down his back initially, so Arthur had to shrug it forward into place by rolling his shoulders. Merlin tightened the girth and breast straps to hold the saddle in place. When he was done, he walked in front of Arthur. “Good?” he asked. Arthur lowered his head and stretched like a cat to check the saddle was firmly in place. He nodded when it didn’t shift or cause him discomfort.

Merlin looked up at Arthur, “You know, I think you’ve gotten bigger. We’re nearly on the last hole of the girth strap. You need to stop eating so much. I mean if you get any larger, I’m going to have to learn rock climbing just to be able to get on your back.”

‘ _I am not fat, Merlin.’_ Arthur lowered his head to glare at Merlin.

Merlin grinned, “I didn’t say that, but I do have to wonder… how many sheep do we owe Gawant?”

Arthur roared in fury at the slight, sitting back on his haunches to tower over Merlin.

“You’re just proving my point, you know,” Merlin teased, leaning his head all the way back to look up at Arthur’s scaly head.

_‘I wouldn’t be so big if someone stopped feeding me magical mystery food.’_

“Aw well, most powerful sorcerer ever, bond mate,” Merlin pointed to himself and Arthur in turns. “I think you’re out of luck… unless you want to get rid of me?” Merlin said the last bit with fake sadness dripping from his words.

Arthur too shocked at the implication to recognize the sarcasm in Merlin’s voice, immediately lowered his head down to Merlin’s level in apology. ‘ _Never_.’

Merlin placed a tender hand on Arthur’s nose. Arthur huffed a curl of smoke in his face impatiently, ready to go. “Give me a minute.” It was quite a sight for Merlin to see the towering red dragon roll his eyes. “I have this theory,” Merlin continued, ignoring Arthur’s antics, “that if I scratch right here…” Merlin reached below to the soft unscaled skin under Arthur’s jaw. Arthur purred his approval and the eyes drifted shut in pleasure. “And here…” Merlin reached his other hand up behind Arthur’s ear. “Not so impatient anymore, huh?” Merlin said with a triumphant laugh. Merlin withdrew his hands. Arthur sighed dramatically with the loss. Merlin leaned in dramatically and whispered for effect, “My theory was based on two places that make you moan when I kiss them. I’m sure you can think of others, but you’ll have to wait until you’re back in human form for me to show you those other spots.”

Arthur’s reptilian eyes narrowed warningly, but the moan of arousal betrayed his true thoughts. Merlin smirked at him wickedly. He scurried around to crawl up into the saddle before Arthur could give into the desires and change back to his human form.

Merlin was careful to avoid the brittle, darkened scales ringing Arthur’s burnt wrist. As Merlin strapped himself into the saddle, Arthur twisted his neck to glare a Merlin with one eye, promising all sorts of pleasurable torture when they got back to their rooms. When Merlin finished tightening the leg straps, Arthur raised his wings, blood red in the moonlight. His leg muscles tightened before releasing to push them into the air as he beat his wings in a concerted effort to take flight. Though they had done this hundreds times before, Merlin was still in awe as they lifted into the air. Once in the air, ‘at cruising altitude’ Merlin often joked, Arthur would soar across the skies, beating his wings about occasionally to gather more momentum. They often spoke through the bond into each other’s minds as they flew. Tonight they were both captured in their own thoughts and repressed desires, and were mostly silent.

A couple hours later, Arthur landed outside the Imperial palace, delightfully exhausted by the flight with the last of the excess energy finally used up, though he made sure to hold some energy in reserve, anticipating a highly enjoyable night with Merlin wrapped around him. He waited for Merlin to slip down. When no motion was made by the warlock, Arthur turned and snorted a quiet laugh at Merlin asleep in the saddle, head nodding down against his own shoulder, snoring softly. There went the chance of sex for the night, Arthur thought mournfully as he waived Lance over with a tail to help him get Merlin down from the saddle.

The next day, Arthur and Merlin told the knights of the Senate agreement and their decision to enlist as they sailed home to Draka. The knights all instantly volunteered to enlist with them. Will approached Merlin and told him that he and Percy would enlist as another bonded pair.  
  
"Are you sure, Will? I don’t want you to feel like you have to. You’re already in the Corps."  
  
Will grinned at him, "Someone's got to keep you in line." Merlin shoved him in mock anger, but then pulled Will into a grateful hug. Will returned the hug easily. "You're my best mate, Merlin. I don't know what I'd do if you flew away to the stars and left me behind."  
  
Arriving back on Draka was a relief to Merlin. He breathed in the fresh air contentedly. "How are you going to handle being in the fleet if you can't deal with six days in space?" Arthur asked worriedly.  
  
"Arthur," Merlin placated, "It'll work out. Like I said before, my home is where you are. And if you're going across the galaxy, then I am too." Arthur wasn’t reassured by Merlin’s optimism, but he didn't have any words for how amazing his bond mate was except to thank him for understanding.  
  
Merlin left Arthur at Camelot with his men while he teleported to Ealdor to reassure his parents of his health. Arthur proceeded to greet Uther in his father’s study after arriving back. Uther embraced his son warmly, offering his congratulations and pride in Arthur’s latest accomplishment in the Senate position.

After stepping back from his son, Uther’s eyes immediately sought out the healing burn mark on Arthur’s arm. Uther sighed heavily and reached for Arthur’s arm. Arthur reluctantly let his father examine the damage, holding his arm out like a peace offering.

“Why didn’t you let them heal you?” Uther released Arthur’s arm.

Arthur sat down in the chair facing the desk before answering. Uther returned to his desk chair as well. “I don’t know,” Arthur answered honestly, “As a reminder, I suppose.”

“A reminder of what?” Uther asked critically. Arthur had the feeling Uther was testing him in some way. Arthur wondered what answer Uther was searching for. Uther hated failure and looked upon any reminder of failure with contempt. Arthur had a sinking feeling that Uther would drag him to the healers to patch up the skin if he answered wrong. As if it had not been hard enough to keep Merlin from healing it when the warlock’s magic returned. He felt like he’d been sleeping with one eye open just to make sure Merlin didn’t try anything while Arthur slept.

“A reminder of my responsibility to Merlin,” Arthur answered, meeting his father’s eyes defiantly. “A reminder that if he burns, I’m going to burn with him.” Arthur knew there was a subtle challenge in his words.

After the assassination attempt on Gawant, Merlin did some digging on the details of Morgana’s story. Uther had failed to control the magic when Nimueh had slipped into Alíese during Arthur’s birth, losing his wife in the process and nearly killing Nimueh. Uther had taken his son and left his bond mate to burn. Nimueh survived the violent release of magic - Uther had absorbed enough before leaving that she managed to expel the remaining magic out before it burned her to ashes. Nimueh was in the Ealdor hospital burn unit under constant healing for a month before she was released. Ever since that day two decades ago, Nimueh was on a strictly regimented program to make sure her magic didn’t go out of control as she knew her bond mate would not come to her aid again.

(At this point, during Merlin’s retelling, Arthur had become enthused that there would be a way for Merlin to survive if Arthur wasn’t able to get to him in time during an Alíese. Merlin had deflated his bubble soon though with the mention that there was no way Merlin would be able to burn off enough magic to hold off an Alíese as Nimueh did. Will had been listening in on the conversation and subtly reminded Arthur, “Five hundred times stronger!” Arthur’s happiness deflated and his resolve solidified.)

Uther studied his son. Arthur could hear the seconds ticking away on the clock in the room. “I would expect nothing less. It is the hope of every parent that their child does not repeat the mistakes of the past.” Uther’s eyes were glazed as he remembered. “I always wondered if…” Could he have saved Ygraine if he had finished absorbing Nimueh’s magic? Could the sorceress have taken back the energy and healed his wife?

Arthur watched his father expectantly, waiting for the man to finish his statement. Uther shook his head and sat up straight, the glazed memory in his eyes disappearing. “No use now,” Uther said cryptically, focusing his attention back on Arthur. “I’m proud of you son for taking up your mother’s position in the Senate. She would be proud of you too.”

Arthur had never before left a meeting with his father in such a good mood. He decided to wait a day to let the feeling last before he told his father about his enlistment plans.

Merlin foresaw their battles correctly when it came to enlistment in the Fleet. Uther was furious when Arthur explained his plan to enlist. "I cannot allow this, Arthur. You are the crown prince and Senator. Merlin is the only heir of his kingdom. You are too important to risk your lives going into the Fleet. If anything were to happen to you, do you realize the implications for this planet?"  
  
Balinor echoed Uther's sentiments even more vehemently, threatening to tie Merlin down to prevent him from enlisting. Hunith rolled her eyes at her husband, as she said, "Merlin, I always raised you to follow your heart. I wouldn't think to stop you now." Balinor scowled and stormed away. Surprisingly, Balinor's bond mate, Kilgarrah, was on Merlin's side in the disagreement, spouting nonsense like destiny and fate.  
  
The Senate grudgingly accepted after several video conferences with Arthur. They conditioned their agreement with promises that Arthur must still handle all the work required of a Senator on top of his military duties - including attending meetings and votes (video conferences and virtual communication were alright with the exception of the first week the Senate was in session).

It took effort to wear their father’s down into reluctantly agreeing. Merlin was lucky he had his mother and Kilgarrah pulling for him. Arthur was left to fight the battle against Uther alone. Each night Arthur and Merlin discussed tactics to wearing down their fathers.

Merlin had heard all the arguments from the Drakarin:

“You are the heir, Merlin! I cannot allow you to go gallivanting across the galaxy like this.”

“There’s too much risk involved. It’s too dangerous.”

“A ship is no place for someone with your magic.”

“Maybe if you weren’t bonded to the only other prince and future leader on this planet…”

And many others reasons ranging from very thought-out to irrationally shouted in a fit of temper.

“What about Morgana?” Merlin asked, “She’s my cousin, so there’s still someone to take the throne.”

“Oh, why didn’t I think of that?” Balinor asked sarcastically, “Maybe because she made a vow swearing off political titles when she became a priestess.”

Merlin frowned at his father. Surely there was something that could be done. It was unprecedented for a potential heir to the throne to go into the priesthood anyway. He suggested as much to Balinor, who at that point had enough of arguing with his son for the day and sent him away.

“Any luck?” Arthur asked when Merlin teleported into the room. Merlin shook his head and collapsed onto the bed heavily face forward with a groan. “Me neither,” Arthur said wryly.

Uther was a stiff old man who bent for no one and nothing. He commended Arthur for the agreement made with the Senate Armed Forces Committee, but was unwilling to let his son volunteer.

“You are the only family I have left. I cannot lose you. It’s bad enough now that I have to worry about you burning yourself to death,” Uther said with a dig at Merlin.

“Don’t you dare bring Merlin into this!” Arthur yelled, angrier than any of the previous times he and his father had argued. “Merlin has nothing to do with the army. If I didn’t want to do it, he wouldn’t be going either!”

“Then why are you trying to do this if you have to drag him along?” Uther asked.

“I’m not forcing him to do it. And I want to join because I won’t ask my men to do anything I won’t do myself.” Arthur swept out of the room with that remark, irate at his father for insulting his relationship with Merlin.

It was Balinor gave in first. Uther followed a few days later. Neither Arthur nor Merlin were sure why the kings accepted the plan to enlist so suddenly, but they were sure it was a conspiracy between the two. How that worked, they weren’t certain, because they knew that Uther and Balinor rarely could say a civil word to each other. But they celebrated the victory, and signed up their enlistment along with the knights. The knights and Will had waited until it was certain that Arthur and Merlin would be going too before submitting anything officially.

Overall, Merlin was surprised by the response to the request for bonded pairs to enlist. They easily met the minimum set by the Committee. Some of the response came from more secluded groups of the planet including several members of a Drakan ethnic group in the east whose dragon forms were more serpentine than their western cousins. There were a few enlistments from unbonded blue level or above Drakarin. Merlin was sad when they had to send out the rejection forms to the unbonded Drakarin, but Merlin made sure that an invite to the latest bonding mixer was included with the rejection message. The first group of enlisters to the Albion Fleet had two short months before being sent to basic training on the planet Caerleon, home of Senator Annis.  
  
 Merlin turned over the planning and arrangements of the bonding socials to Gwen since he would be away. Merlin had noticed that Lancelot and her had been quite close since the return from Gawant and took the time working with Gwen to tease her about Lancelot's affections. Gwaine was less subtle than Merlin and blatantly asked Gwen when the wedding date was every time he saw her.  
  
"Merlin?" Gwen asked one day as they finished up some work. Merlin nodded to show he was listening. "Take care of them for me - Elyan and Lancelot, I mean. Bring them back to me. I don't know what I would do without them." Gwen smiled sadly, "And watch out for yourself. And Arthur too. Draka needs you both."  
  
"I will do everything in my power to keep us safe."  
  
Gwen nodded, "That's all I can ask."

* * *

Merlin grunted in pain as the stick struck his side. "Focus, Lieutenant," barked the Major leading the training session. They were working with wooden sticks until they the major deemed them ready to advance to metal swords, the next step before the plasma swords of the Albion Fleet.

As royalty, Merlin and Arthur were automatically given a starting officer position upon enlisting in the Fleet, but it didn’t mean much when Merlin was such a failure with weapons.  
  
Arthur rolled his eyes at Merlin's poor sword skills. "I cannot believe you are this bad with a sword. Aren't you an officer in the Drakarin army?"  
  
Merlin blocked Arthur's swing. "It’s the Drakarin Mage Corps and they focus a bit more on magic than swordplay." Merlin enunciated the last word with a swing at Arthur, which the Drakan easily blocked.  
  
"Pitiful," Arthur teased.  
  
"Less talk, men!" the Major shouted at them. Merlin rolled his eyes, but complied with the command.  
  
After dinner and the evening training session, Merlin collapsed heavily face-first on Arthur's bed. It was the middle of the second week of training. While Merlin easily completed the tasks in sorcerer basic training, the physical training was brutal.  
  
Arthur, as an Albion senator, was given separate sleeping quarters to facilitate his duties as senator as well as protect any information considered confidential by the Albion Senate. Arthur was reading through a manuscript sent earlier that day. "I don't think I'll ever be able to move again," Merlin moaned.  
  
He heard Arthur's desk chair scrape the floor and then the bed dipped as Arthur settled beside him. Arthur slowly massaged Merlin's abused muscles. Merlin moans in appreciation of Arthur's hands were stifled as his head was buried in the pillow. He shivered when Arthur's hands slipped under his shirt. Arthur kissed the back of his neck and the massage changed subtly to caresses.  
  
Merlin turned his face to look at Arthur. "Careful, now," Merlin said, "or we'll be kicked out for fraternizing."  
  
Arthur dismissed the statement with an unconcerned head shake. "No we won't."  
  
"It's against Fleet code," Merlin said, but he easily complied when Arthur pulled his shirt over his head.  
  
Arthur explained the reasons with kisses on Merlin's body to emphasize his points. "They won't care. First, I'm a Senator on the Armed Forces Committee. Second, we're planet royalty. Third, they kick us out and they're guaranteed to lose all Draka enlisters - no matter what the Senate decreed. Fourth, they know that many Draka bonded are life partners as well – they accepted the meaning of that when they agreed to the terms. Fifth, and most likely the most important, you are the strongest sorcerer in the five galaxies. They don't want to lose you."  
  
Merlin scowled at the last reason, and rolled over onto his back to argue, but Arthur quickly distracted him by unbuttoning his pants and sliding a hand under the waistband. Merlin's breathing hitched as Arthur stroked him. "Uhn, too tired," Merlin protested weakly, trying to waive Arthur away.  
  
Arthur's eyes lit up as he grinned, "Then let me do the work." Arthur quickly removed their remaining clothing. Merlin's eyes widened as he saw Arthur finger himself before he straddled over Merlin and settled down. Any further protest was lost in gasps and moans of pleasure.

* * *

Merlin excelled in basic training magic courses, but Merlin's skills with the sword were slow to improve. Arthur teased Merlin mercilessly about it when with the other Draka knights. "Look! I'm Merlin!" Arthur held the sword timidly in front of him, mocking Merlin's abilities. Merlin frowned and with a flash of golden eyes the ground under Arthur turned muddy and the prince tripped. Arthur glared at him from the mud pit. Merlin smirked, satisfied with his revenge.  
  
Arthur tried giving him extra lessons, which he held at a brutal pace without giving Merlin any leeway. "Shield! Sword! Come on Merlin! Hit me!" Merlin quickly became irritated. Arthur wouldn't let him leave, forcing Merlin to defend himself with the sword. Finally, Merlin reached his breaking point and shouted angrily throwing his hand forward. Arthur impacted the ground flat on his back with a grunt. A few panting breaths passed before either moved.  
  
"Sorry," Merlin said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to throw you so hard."  
  
Arthur sat up slowly, rubbing his back, "I'm alright. I suppose if I could toss men like paper then I wouldn't be too concerned with the sword either."  
  
Merlin sighed heavily and sat down beside Arthur, fiddling with the metal sword in his hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it shook his head.  
  
"I'm sorry too," Arthur ventured. "I suppose I've been a bit insensitive." Merlin snorted at the downplay of his actions. Arthur grimaced and nodded. "Alright, I've been very insensitive. But Merlin, you have to learn to defend yourself with a sword. What happens if there's a time when you can't use magic?"  
  
Merlin frowned at the implication that he wouldn't be able to use magic, but he carefully considered Arthur's concern. "Okay. I'll train harder with the sword, do the extra lessons," Merlin finally agreed. Arthur grinned and moved to stand back up for round two. Merlin's next words stopped him in his tracks. "But not with you."  
  
Arthur swung back around to search Merlin's face. Merlin continued, "I love you Arthur. And I know that you are the best at what you do. You're amazing with the sword and you've trained so many people, but this-" Merlin gestured between them and the swords in their hands, "-isn't going to work. I can't learn this from you."  
  
Arthur ran a frustrated hand through his hair, nodding slowly. He had noticed the tension and strain in their relationship recently. "Alright, but promise you'll train with someone else?"  
  
Merlin was true to his word and approached the Major the next day about extra sword lessons. His request was instantly granted and he began private lessons under a Colonel from the planet Catha. Catha warriors were famed for their ability to integrate magic into their fighting style. In the end, Merlin leaned more from the Catha than he ever could from Arthur with the extra lessons that included magic. By adding magic back into the picture, Merlin was a lot more eager to learn the moves and practice. He quickly advanced in skill and was able to rejoin the main class that had progressed to plasma swords.  
  
When basic training came to an end, Merlin could hold his own against Arthur in sword combat for a few minutes, though Arthur always won unless Merlin used one of the magic tricks the Catha taught him. After basic training, they were sent to specialization training. Merlin was trained further in combat and healing magic – but to be honest, the teachers didn’t have much material for him and the lessons were typically spent with Merlin helping the teacher master a complex spell. Percival demonstrated a particular flair for machinery and was taken in by the Albion Corp of Engineers within the fleet. Elyan and Lancelot were trained as pilots due to their sharp and quick reflexes. Gwaine and Will were named advanced weapons specialists. Arthur and Leon went to tactical command.   
  
As a group, the recruits formed a new squad with Arthur as their Squadron Leader and were assigned to the ISS Griffin. While Captain Ewan was an honorable and fair man, First Lieutenant Valiant's character ended up being far from his given name. Merlin instantly disliked the man upon meeting him the first day they reported for duty.  
  
The Griffin was an intermediate star cruiser in the fleet. It had four laser guns and was used for boarding other space craft. The ship had been in service for a while and its tours of duty showed. Will complained that he never saw Percival because the man was constantly fixing some part of the ship that had broken and needed repair. The worst days were when the food units or A/C failed. Arthur was designated Second Lieutenant and covered the night shift on the bridge while the Captain and First Lieutenant slept. Merlin was designated Chief Medical Officer of the ship, which meant that he had a lot of free time until the ship engaged in combat. Until then he mostly dealt with healing sore throats and stomach aches whenever the food units broke. Their duties also meant that Merlin and Arthur only saw each other in brief snatches as Merlin’s job required him to be up at different hours.  
  
The cramped quarters caused tempers to rise quickly. The Drakan were obviously missing the ability to shift and stretch out in their alternate forms. Merlin noticed how Arthur would sometimes rub his shoulder as if chasing away a phantom wing cramp. For Merlin, the ship was dull. There wasn't much for him to do, which left his magic restless after six months in space. He could only find so many pieces of space shrapnel to spin away from the ship far off into space. He had to meditate longer each day. It was a blessing that his magic was still rebuilding from the Alíese or there would have been an accident long before.  
  
Merlin was minding his own business one day, taking care of his duties to inventory the ships medical supplies when he finally discovered the reason for his inherent dislike of Valiant. He was in the back of the supply closet, behind several rows of shelves, when he heard the door to the supply room open and two figures came in. Judging by the way Valiant had a clenched grip on the other man’s shirt, Merlin determined it was a good time to make himself invisible. He quietly shifted the rolls of bandages off his lap so he could get a better view. Valiant looming over another man threateningly. Merlin recognized the second man as Delvin – a sorcerer who had the misfortune to be low on the ships totem pole. Delvin only had one power – the ability to make pictures real. It wasn’t a power to sneer at, Merlin thought, but there wasn’t too much use for it on a ship like this, so Delvin had little respect amongst the ship mates. He was basically a foot soldier.

“Well? Do you have it?” Valiant asked, hand still wrapped in Delvin’s shirt, forcing the man to stand in an uncomfortable position slightly on his toes.

Delvin stammered, “Y-y-yes.” He held up a round object – Merlin shifted closer to see better – accidentally rubbing a box nearby. The sound echoed in the quiet room. Valiant stopped and looked around suspiciously.

“Hold on,” he said to Delvin, releasing the man as he walked past the shelves toward Merlin. Merlin quickly double-checked that he was actually invisible and rearranged the bandages as if they had been left in a hurry. Valiant paused for a few minutes, looking around the area where the bandages were laid out on the floor before deciding there was nothing there and returning to Delvin. Valiant grabbed the object that Delvin held up. “A bracelet,” Valiant dead-panned.

“Um, it’s a wrist cuff, And what else did you want me to do? There aren’t many things that you could easily carry around with snakes –“

Valiant cut Delvin off in the middle of the sorcerer’s panicked rant. “Does it work?”

“Uh yes. Well – almost.” Valiant glared at Delvin, “I just need a bit more time to get the last spell. It’s not exactly easy.”

Valiant handed the bracelet back with a scowl. “Make it work, Delvin. Bring it to me tonight.” With a flare, Valiant stalked out of the room. Delvin slumped against a shelf and let out a relieved breath, allowing a few minutes to pass before he left the closet too

Delvin was found the next day, dead in his bunk in his squad’s barracks. Merlin knew exactly who was responsible. He examined the body and noticed the snake bites on Delvin’s neck and realized what Delvin had done to Valiant’s bracelet. When he reported to Captain Ewan, Valiant was with the Captain, and it took Merlin’s willpower to not look at Valiant when he told the Captain that Delvin had died from a snake bite.

Merlin told Arthur what he had seen in the supply closet when they were alone that night before Arthur reported to duty. “We can’t accuse the First Lieutenant of murder without proof,” Arthur said reasonably.

“But if we don’t do something, he’s going to kill again!” Merlin exclaimed.

Arthur sighed, “Alright. I believe you. I’ll try to tell the Captain about it, and I’ll keep my eyes open. But you’ll have to keep a close eye on things during the day.”

Merlin nodded and kissed Arthur deeply. Arthur wanted to stay longer with Merlin, but his shift was about to start. Reluctantly, he pulled himself away from the warlock. “Be careful,” Merlin said as Arthur pulled on his shoes.

Ewan didn’t believe Arthur’s story and accused Arthur of making up stories to have Valiant’s position. Arthur was in a foul mood for the rest of his shift that Ewan doubted his word and honor. He stalked into his room at the end of shift without saying hello to Merlin. Merlin tried to talk to him, but Arthur curled up on the bed and faced the wall, refusing to speak. Merlin sighed heavily, waiting as long as he could before he had to leave to report to his station. Normally these small overlaps where they saw each other were filled with kisses, not petulant moods and cold shoulders.

It was luck when they managed to find Ewan a day later, at death’s door but still alive. Merlin treated the snake bites carefully, tending the Captain until he was sure Ewan would recover. He left Ewan briefly at what would be the end of his shift to tell Arthur about the snake bites. When he returned, it was to find Ewan was bitten again, cold and still as death.

Valiant easily took over his position as Captain, making a gesture about searching the ship for snakes. Of course, no snakes were found and even a life form scan of the ship revealed no snakes in the cracks and crannies of the ships underbelly. Merlin and Arthur made plans to reveal Valiant’s deception and at shift turnover that evening, when the most people were present on the ship’s deck, Arthur accused Valiant of murdering the Captain and Delvin.

Merlin quickly realized that their plan wasn’t going to go quite so smoothly. The majority of men on the deck were part of Valiant’s squadron and were irritated by Arthur accusing their leader. As Valiant motioned men forward to arrest Arthur, Merlin quickly used the spell to make the snakes on the bracelet come to life. Valiant looked around wildly, caught in the act and unsure what to do when the men stopped in their advances to arrest Arthur and looked at Valiant accusingly. Valiant’s hisses at the bracelet for the snakes to go away, further incriminated him. Realizing it was a lost cause, Valiant turned eyes on Arthur and told the snakes, “Kill him.”

The snakes quickly approached Arthur, who backed away, but tripped over a step on the deck and fell down. Merlin shot his hand out and killed the snakes with a violent gesture, angry that someone had attempted to kill Arthur. The unmistakable snap of the snake necks had the stunned deck sighing in relief. Valiant moved to run out of the room – most likely seeking an escape in one of the smaller ships sitting in the bay area. Merlin froze Valiant in place before he reached the door while the room recovered. Arthur tossed Merlin a grateful smile. “As acting captain, I order you to arrest Valiant for murder of Captain Ewan and crewmate Delvin. Change course for Gawant and send a message to HQ.”

When they reached Gawant, the court trials against Valiant proceeded quickly. At the end of the trials, Valiant was found guilty, dishonorably discharged and sent to the military prison for his crimes. They didn’t let Arthur keep his Captaincy of the ISS Griffin, to Arthur’s disappointment. The ISS Griffin departed Gawant without any of his squad aboard and they waited anxiously for new orders. Arthur used the time to take care of Senate business while they were in Albion.

It was surprise to everyone when the squad received orders that Arthur was now Captain of the ISS Dragon V, a quick vessel used for stellar fighting. The denomination “Dragon” for a ship had not been used in over twenty years since Draka had fallen to a Class V planet and the Albion Fleet members from Draka had been sent home. ISS Dragon was a title for a ship that had spanned across the centuries, used only for Draka, since the days of the first Emperor Bruta reserved the moniker for Drakan and Drakan bonded only.

As there weren’t enough Draka Fleet members to fill the ships rosters, many of the new ships staff were from other planets too, but that still didn’t take away from the legacy and intention of the ship.

As Arthur and the others boarded the ship for the first time, they were in awe of the ship. The old ISS Dragon IV had been taken out of commission a few years after the beginning of the civil war on Draka and salvaged for parts for other vessels. This ship, Dragon V, was new – its walls shining brightly and the computer displays the most recent technology updates. The best part of the ship was the large bay area below deck, made specifically as an area to shift into Drakan forms. There was even a specially designed fitness harness so they could work out their wings and fly, while being held in place. Arthur touched the captain chair with wonder.

“Be careful, Merlin,” Gwaine said with humor, “I think you’ve been replaced as Arthur’s first love.”

Arthur sent Gwaine a withering glare and kissed Merlin to prove Gwaine was wrong. Merlin pushed Arthur away before they let the display get out of hand. Arthur smiled triumphantly at Merlin’s flustered appearance before he sat down in the Captain chair.

“You’re grinning like an idiot,” Merlin told him.

“You can’t call me that! I’m the Captain!” Arthur said with mock offense.

Merlin raised an eyebrow and turned to walk out the door, “If that’s how it’s going to be up here, I’ve got better things to do.” Arthur was distracted for a couple of minutes by the intentional seductive sway of Merlin’s hips as he walked out the door. Gwaine snickered from his left.

Arthur snapped back to attention and pressed the speaker button for the ship. “Attention ISS Dragon, this is your Captain, Arthur Pendrakan, speaking. We are about to launch and set course for the Empire border...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I picture the Albion Fleet to be a bit Star Trek-ish. Hope it doesn't seem too unoriginal.


	3. ISS Dragon

“Hard to starboard!” Arthur shouted tensely, watching the movements of the other starship projected on the screen. Elyan pulled the ship sharply to the right

“Shields, 62%, Damage, 76%,” Lancelot called out.

“Gwaine,” Arthur spoke into the intercom, “They’re coming up on us. Do you have a lock on their position?”

“A few more seconds,” Gwaine said tersely. Arthur held his breath in the next few tense moments “Got ‘em,” Gwaine said and Arthur could hear the grin in his voice.

Arthur watched on the video feed as the ship exploded. The crew watched as several escape pods appeared out from the debris. The pods floated uselessly through space without any engines to power them. Most ships were built with simple escape pods – all the power on board devoted to supply oxygen instead of flight engines. The idea was that if a ship was compromised, passengers could flee onto the escape pods and send out stress signals. Escape pods were built with a special magnetic device that activated when the pod was deployed. The magnetism allowed the pod to be pulled in by rescuers. “Gwaine?”

“Locked on. Activating the homing device.”

The pods aligned with the ISS Dragon’s magnet and slowly began drifting towards the bay of the ship. Arthur quickly keyed in a few commands on his screen to get a private line to Will.

“What now?” Will said informally, answering on the first ring. He’d been pretty bored as all the fighting action had taken place on Gwaine’s side of the ship.

Arthur rolled his eyes and held in an internal sigh at Will’s lack of manners. “Will, I need you to suit up with weapons and go to the bay. Take your crew with you. Pick up the hostiles that we’re bringing in on the pods and escort them to holding cells. Follow all protocol – they may have weapons on them.”

“How many?” Will asked.

“Six pods – maybe ten or twelve at most. You have ten minutes until they are in the bay.”

Lancelot spoke into the intercom, “Attention all hands. Unfriendly pods approaching bay. Please evacuate area until given all clear. All hands be ready for emergency situation.”

“Elyan?” Arthur prompted.

“Scans of the pods show no explosives. Registering – hold on – one more pod to scan – 8 life forms aboard.”

“Will, do you copy? Eight unfriendlies aboard the pods.”

“Copy,” Will said quickly. “In position.”

Arthur flipped the main screen over to the video streams of the holding bay. Will’s team stood ready at the interior door to the docking bay. The exterior hatch opened, allowing the pods to enter the docking area. Magnets in the floor pulled the pods to land on the floor of the chamber. When all six pods were inside, the holding door was closed. Lancelot keyed in the command for the chamber to be refilled with air and turned off the magnetic device.

“No sign of movement from the pods, Will,” Arthur said. “We’ll open the hatch door at your signal.”

Will motioned towards his team, who propped up their weapons. “Open the hatch, Lance.”

Lance nodded, quickly pressing the button to open the hatch.

Will’s team immediately swept in as soon as the doorway was clear. The first group formed a circle around the pods with weapons at the ready. A smaller crew including Will approached the closest pod. All pods were equipped with a standard code so that they could be opened from the outside. The crew watching the video from the bridge collectively held their breath as the code was entered and the first pod was opened. “Pod contains one subject – male, unconscious, appears to be from planet Andor.”

Andor residents were often quickly identifiable by their crude necklaces made of Wilddeoren teeth. Wilddeoren were infamous across the empire, though natively only found on the planet Andor. It was a ferocious, carnivourous rodent known for its taste of flesh. Though blind, the creatures had an incredible sense of smell. Their large teeth were a defining feature, and it was a badge of honor among the men of Andor to wear the teeth of any Wilddeoren they killed.

The unconscious man was quickly cuffed and searched for weapons. Slowly, the crew opened each pod. A few of the pirates tried to attack when the pod was opened, but were quickly detained. Others surrendered immediately when the pod door was opened. The forth pod opened revealed an actual Wilddeoren of Andor. Despite the initial surprise of its appearance, the beast was quickly disposed by a quick trigger finger of one of the team members. When all prisoners were cuffed, the team efficiently escorted them to the nearby holding cells.

Will quickly debriefed Arthur, “Seven pirates total. All male, believed to be from Andor. We’ll need a clean-up crew to dispose of the Wilddeoren.”

A sigh of relief was heard throughout the command deck as the last prisoner was shut into his holding cell. The pirate ship _Hengist_ had been pillaging the area and wreaking havoc on the southern octant VIII border of the Albion Empire for months.  The ISS Dragon had been ordered to detain the hostiles and if necessary, terminate. The _Hengist_ captain was crafty and dodged their movements for weeks, sweeping in for quick battles to maim their ship before quickly retreating. They finally caught up with the _Hengist_ in what proved to be a vicious battle. When Percy had been unable to continue repairing the ship through mechanical means, Merlin stepped in and strengthened the shields through magic.

“Good work, gentlemen,” Arthur said. “We’re too close to the border to stay here tonight. Set course for Albion - we’ll need to drop off the prisoners and get some repairs before our next mission. Then change shifts and get some rest!” Arthur quickly keyed the authorization for an alert to be sent to the next shift.

They had been in space for five months. At first, their orders were primarily scouting missions, but in the past two months, they had been given more offensive missions targeting pirates, rebels, and mercenaries.

When Leon arrived at the bridge to take over for the next shift, Arthur debriefed him quickly.

“Attention!” Leon called as Arthur stood to leave. Arthur nodded in dismissal and left – eager to get some food and to see Merlin.

Their quarters were empty when he got back, but a tray with two plates of food was left on the table. The food looked lightly picked over – as if someone had grabbed a few bites in a hurry. Arthur frowned at Merlin’s barely touched plate and pulled his own toward him. Eating was a lonely affair without Merlin. Since joining the Albion Fleet, their relationship reached a level of domesticity that was starting to bother Arthur. Sometimes all they had were a few kisses and brief exchanges before the other was off to do more work. It felt like forever since they had last been intimate with each other. With the latest rounds of battles with the _Hengist_ , Merlin practically lived in the medical ward. The only good thing that came out of all the injuries and battles was that Merlin’s magic seemed to be somewhat settled with the constant use.

Arthur finished his plate and changed into his off-duty uniform. He left their room, heading to the medical ward.

The medical ward was a bustling room of commotion. Several men sat on the beds resting or waiting for their turn. He could hear Merlin calling out, “I need 5 cc’s now!”

One of the nurses rushing by caught sight of him, “Attention! Officer on deck!”

All commotion seemed to stop except for Merlin who was still calling out instructions.

“At ease,” Arthur said and the quick commotions resumed with aides running to and fro for medicine and supplies. Arthur pulled aside one of the men, “Could you tell me what is going on and how long as Lt. Drakarin been here?”

“Yes, sir. Lieutenant Drakarin is in an emergency surgery. When the upper deck got hit earlier, one of the men got shards of metal in his abdomen. He’s been in surgery for three hours now, sir.”

“Will the man be ok?”

“I believe so, sir. They are almost finished – they were sewing up the wounds.”

“And how long has Lieutenant Drakarin been on shift?”

The cadet’s eyes scrunched up as if doing mental math in his head, “Fourteen hours, sir.”

“Thank you, cadet. Carry on and when you have a chance, tell Lieutenant Drakarin that I have his dinner and to finish up. He is done for the day and I am waiting over here.”

“Yes, sir.” The cadet saluted and scurried away. Arthur grinned to himself in satisfaction that over the past five months, he had successfully scared Merlin’s staff to the point they would rather rat on Merlin than face Arthur’s wrath.

Arthur didn’t wait too much longer. In about ten minutes, Merlin rushed over to him. Arthur set aside the _Albion Journal_ paper he had been flipping through – though the paper’s date was three weeks prior when they had last docked and Arthur had read through it at least twice now – it was the only reading material in the medical bay.

“Merlin,” Arthur said without intonation, passing over the plate.

Merlin winced – knowing that whenever Arthur used no inflection, it meant that he was containing some deep emotion – and accepted the plate gratefully, sinking down into the chair beside Arthur. “Yes?” he asked around a mouthful of food.

“Time to go. Your shift is over.”

“But – I’ve got one man in standby for surgery and three still in recovery. I can’t leave now!”

“And I just saw Med Mage Muirden check in. He is perfectly capable to pick up where you left off. You’ll be dead on your feet if you stay here any longer.”

Merlin sighed and rubbed his eyes, nodding his head in agreement with Arthur, and finished the last bit of the food under Arthur’s watchful eye. He grinned at Arthur in amusement and waved toward the empty plate. _‘Satisfied?’_ Merlin asked through their bond.

 _‘Not nearly,’_ Arthur sent back with a hint of lust and a mental picture of what would satisfy him. Out loud he said, “Go debrief Muirden and finish up. Meet me at the door in fifteen.”

Merlin raised an eyebrow and smirked knowingly before scurrying off again. Arthur leaned back in the chair closed his eyes, hoping for a quick nap.

Twenty-five minutes later, Arthur was awakened by a tap on his shoulder. He peered blearily up at Merlin and yawned. “That was longer than fifteen minutes.”

“You looked so cozy, I didn’t want to wake you. I’m ready to go now.”

Merlin gave Arthur a hand up and they exited the medical bay toward their quarters quietly. Arthur was struggling to rid the last vestiges of sleep from his nap as they walked. In their rooms, Merlin quickly stripped out of his uniform and stuffed the dirty clothes into the cleaner. Arthur leaned against the door and watched him through bleary eyes.

Merlin stalked up to him and slowly began unbuttoning Arthur’s shirt, “I thought you had special plans for the evening.”

“I do,” Arthur murmured, allowing Merlin to slide the button shirt off of him. Merlin untucked Arthur’s undershirt and slid his hands under onto Arthur’s chest.

“Shall we make a move on those plans?” Merlin said softly before pulling Arthur’s undershirt over his head.

Arthur held Merlin and kissed him in reply. He could feel Merlin smiling against his lips. “Maybe tomorrow. I think we’re both tired tonight.”

As if in response, Merlin yawned. Arthur chuckled faintly and nuzzled Merlin’s neck. “Bed, then?”

Merlin nodded as he yawned again. “Bed,” he agreed.

As Arthur deepened the kiss, Merlin’s hands were busy moving on to other things. Arthur felt Merlin push down his pants and boxers and stepped forward out of the clothes towards the bed. “Still sleepy?” Merlin whispered with a husk in his ear as he caressed Arthur.

Arthur let out a breathy sigh, “Not anymore.”

Merlin nibbled at Arthur’s ear before backing up, pulling Arthur with him onto the bed. Arthur willingly followed. Merlin’s legs wrapped around him as the kissed on the bed, hands wandering as if reacquainting themselves with something long forgotten.

Arthur pulled back as if to stop. Merlin grabbed him and tugged him back. “Merlin –”

Merlin eyes glowed gold, pulling on the energy of his magic and feeding it to Arthur through the bond, “Shh, I got this.”

Arthur grinned, “So useful.”

“Finally, he admits I’m good for something!” Merlin said with mock exasperation, but the last word caught on a moan as Arthur's hands became busy. “Oh.”

“Shh,” Arthur mocked Merlin, “I’ve got this.” Merlin was too lost in the sensation to reply.

\---

Arthur awoke in the early morning hours to the video feed ringing in his office. Arthur checked his watch – 04:48. Quietly, he slipped out of Merlin’s tangled limbs and grabbed a fresh shirt and boxers on his way into the office. The door quietly slid shut behind him with a click, sealing the bedroom from the Captain’s office.

Arthur answered the call when he was decent. “Morning, Commander.”

Ruadan’s face appeared on the screen, “Pendrakan, we’ve got an emergency. Major solar storm flare in the Rendal galaxy in octant VIII. Appeared on our radar fifteen minutes ago and we suspect four hours ETA to your position. I’m uploading the satellite images to you now. The quality isn’t the best because the surge took out the closest satellite.”

Arthur blinked as the image appeared on his second screen. A solid line of dark red and purple heading towards them. “Shit.”

“There aren’t any docking stations in your immediate area. You can try to make it to the nearest one – Deira – about 5 light clicks away from you.”

Arthur looked at the data about the storm – velocity and direction. “We won’t make it in time and there are no planets immediately around to shield us.”

“Can you ride it out?”

Arthur sighed heavily, “We finished fighting Hengist yesterday – we’re at…” Arthur clicked a button and flipped the screen to the ship’s data log. “71% shield and 79% damage. The crew’s done some repairs but we were on our way into Albion for the rest of the repairs.”

“You’re sitting ducks in the water,” Ruadan cursed and shouted at someone off-screen.

“I can do it.” Arthur looked up at Merlin in the doorway wearing a robe. He hadn’t heard the door open.

“Merlin…”

“I can do this Arthur.”

Arthur sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Pendrakan,” Ruadan barked, “Statician here says that he believes the storm is slowing. If you punch it, you can get to Deira before it hits. The energy shields at the docking station along with the planet’s magnetic field should deflect the worst of it.”

Arthur threw one last glance at Merlin. “Thank you sir. We’ll be on our way.”

Ruadan nodded and the screen clicked out. Arthur grabbed the communicator to the bridge, “Leon – emergency protocol. Massive solar storm headed our way. Command thinks we can make it to Deira before it hits. Change course and push it – give it everything we’ve got. I’ll be down momentarily. All hands on deck in emergency gear and strapped in.”

“Yes sir.”

As soon as Arthur hung up the phone, the ships emergency horns blared to life. Arthur rushed into the next room and pulled on a uniform. Merlin trailed him at a slower pace.

“I can hold the shields Arthur.”

“Goddammit, Merlin!” Arthur shouted whirling around on Merlin. “I don’t want to risk you. What if it’s too much? I have to try to get to Deira first!”

“But you’ll risk all of us?” Merlin demanded.

Arthur sighed and headed to the door, calling behind him as he left, “Fine. Report to the bridge.”

Merlin frowned as the door clicked shut behind Arthur. Merlin muttered furiously as he pulled on his uniform, “…know it all, stupid prat-faced, arrogant dollophead!”

Leon’s voice projected through the announcer speaker, “All hands brace for light warp!”

Merlin grabbed the handhold with both hands moments before the ship shot forward, pushing everything that wasn’t held down backwards. “Bet that caused a few concussions,” Merlin muttered, still angry. After a few seconds, everything settled as the ship’s onboard accelerometer accommodated for the increased force and Merlin let go of the handhold. He popped his ears to relieve the pressure from the higher speed before heading out of the room.

His communicator rang a few minutes later, “Lieutenant, sir, we need you in the medical bay – got a few knocked heads and bones from that quick jump to speed.”

“Can’t,” Merlin said tersely, “Orders to report to the bridge.”

Muirden cursed, “Yes, sir. Please come as soon as you are available.”

Merlin hung up Muirden’s call and hurried through the halls. The halls were busy as everyone hurried to their stations. Merlin stepped into the command room – Arthur and Leon were leaning over a table displaying a holographic image of their location and the storm. A small green dotted line marked their progress as the system updated every few seconds, tracking their movement and the storm’s. The surge of the storm was marked in a dark purple indicating its UV intensity. Deira had not been directly in front of them from their original position, so they were cutting a diagonal path in front of the storm surge.

“Storm appears to be from a small supernova over in the Mercian Empire. The source was far enough out that all we see now is the remains of the UV energy – about a Category 3 storm. Strong enough to burn us up without full shield, but not strong enough to endanger any planets or stations. Too bad relations between Mercia and us are uneasy or I assume we would have more warning,” Leon said.

“Will we make it to Deira?” Merlin asked coming up beside them.

“Too soon to tell,” Arthur remarked.

“Good to see you Merlin!” Leon said, “It’s been a while since you’ve come to these parts of the ship.”

“Yeah!” Gwaine hollered from his seat across the room, “Arthur’s been irritable.”

Arthur glared at Gwaine for a minute before turning back to the display, deciding to ignore the comment instead of proving Gwaine correct. “Gwaine, this isn’t even your emergency station,” Arthur remarked. Gwaine shrugged in response and Arthur rolled his eyes before turning back to the map

“What’s our plan B, Arthur?” Leon asked quietly.

Arthur sighed and rubbed his forehead aggressively, “Merlin is our plan B. He’ll hold the shields.”

Leon’s jaw went slack with shock and he glanced between the two bonded men, sensing underlying tension between them. “Alright.”

“I don’t have a better idea,” Arthur said with a hint of remorse, “And Merlin insists that he can do it.”

“Theoretically, what if the storm is too strong?” Leon asked reasonably.

Arthur shook his head, not wanting to consider the possibility. “Then we call the Drakarin above a blue level up to the bridge and let Merlin borrow their power until the storm has passed.”

Merlin stared at Arthur in shock, “You’re kidding. That will kill them Arthur!”

Arthur frowned at Merlin, “And it will kill you – not to mention everyone else on this ship – if we don’t!”

Merlin sighed, “I’m going to meditate. Get me at least twenty minutes before you need me. Tell all the other Drakarin to meditate as well.”

The meditation room for Drakarin was on the same level as the bridge at the back of the ship. It was a simple room with sound proof walls to block out the noise and a padded floor for comfortable meditation. It overlooked the Drakan flight exercise room. Merlin sunk down to his knees and emptied his mind, focusing only on the hum of power beneath his skin.

In the command room, Arthur turned from the display and looked at Leon. “Call the Drakarin to meditate – all except for the ones in the medical bay. Tell them to go to their own rooms though – leave Merlin to himself. Let them and their bonded know the situation and that we’ll call them if we need their assistance to maintain the shield.”

Arthur sat in the captain’s chair and watched the screens monitoring their progress. There wasn’t much else to do until the situation became clearer. “Lancelot, how are we doing?” Arthur asked two hours later, stifling a yawn.

“Hour and a half to Deira, but the storm is gaining on us.”

Arthur spoke into his communicator to Percy in the engine room. “How’s the ship, Percy?”

“Holding,” Percy said, “The engines are on rotation to prevent overheating. Engine four apparently sustained some damage in the last battle. This is the first time we’ve fired her up since then. Had to bring her down and fire number one up again. We’re working on it, but it seems the rotor blade on the cooling fan was hit. We can’t repair that in flight, so we’re running on only three engines at the moment.”

“Do your best, Percy.”

“Yessir.”

Forty-five minutes later. “Arthur,” Elyan called from his pilot’s seat. “We’ve got thirty minutes until the flare hits. We’re not going to make it to Deira.”

Arthur kept his voice calm. “Alright. Let me get Merlin. Keep going straight – but give us time to turn into the surge before it hits.”

Arthur walked back to the meditation room and entered quietly. _‘Merlin.’_

_‘It’s time?’_

_‘Yes.’_

Merlin drew in a deep breath before his eyes opened. His beautiful blue irises were glowing the color of fire and continued to stay that way as Merlin held on the power he had been amassing. “Ready.”

Arthur held the door open for Merlin and followed him back to the bridge. He hated the risk of this maneuver, but there was not another option.

“Fifteen minutes,” Lancelot called out when they walked onto the deck. The room had fallen into a tense silence. Merlin took a seat up front near the pilots and placed both hands flat on the counter in front of him, careful to avoid any buttons. His eyelids slid shut, but the glow of his eyes could be seen through the thin skin tissue.

Merlin worked quickly integrating his power with the shield – overlapping it and strengthening it. It would have to hold. He stopped listening to the sounds in the command room. It was only him and the shield and the storm wave sweeping toward them.

“Who are our next strongest drakarin after Merlin?” Arthur asked Leon quietly.

“Muirden’s a red level –”

“No. He has to cover the medical bay. Who else?”

“Corporal Avarr Selme – brown level.”

“And his bonded?”

“Private Enmyria Beech.”

“Call them up. Who’s next on the list?”

“We have Private Mary Collins, Sergeant Isolde Mark, and Private Gilli Mell - all purples.”

"And after that?"

“Below purple is blue," Leon reminded Arthur, "All the other bonded are blue level and below.” It was well known that blue was the threshold of average strength. A blue level wouldn't be able to hold up to a storm of this magnitude.

“Will's a blue... but we can't spare Percy from the engine room. While I’m thinking of it, send Will down to assist Percy."

“That’s all the Drakarin above blue that we have?” Arthur asked, slightly disappointed.

Leon surveyed the ship roster of bonded, “That’s all... It is a high risk for powerful Drakarin to enlist. I'm not surprised the number is low.”

“Alright. Let the rest stay in meditation. Leave Corporal Selme and Private Beech in the hallway until we need them.”

Leon nodded and quickly sent out the instructions to the bonded pair. Arthur spoke into the intercom. “Attention all hands. Please assume Level 5 emergency positions.”

“Ten minutes,” Elyan said as the command center scrambled to put on the remainder of their gear and buckle themselves into position. Arthur quietly walked up behind Merlin and clicked the lifeline of Merlin’s suit into the closest lock on the ship. He then buckled Merlin’s helmet in place and snapped the visor shut. The ship immediately began supplying oxygen through the suit. Merlin was so deep into the magic that he made no response to Arthur’s movements.

His gloves, Arthur thought looking at Merlin’s bare hands on the dashboard. Shit. He couldn’t risk putting gloves on Merlin and interfering with the magic, but the suit was essentially useless without the gloves. Leon noticed Arthur’s dilemma and shook his head minutely. There was nothing else to be done.

Arthur checked that everyone was buckled in. “Helmet, Gwaine,” he reminded as he strapped himself in and placed on his own helmet. The suits were another layer of protection against the storm should the shield break. At a storm of this level, in reality, the suit could do little, but protocol must be maintained.

“Five minutes.”

“Corp. Selme and Priv. Beech are just outside and strapped in, sir,” Leon’s voice said through a direct private line through the speaker of Arthur’s suit.

“Lancelot, how long will the surge last?”

It took a minute for Lancelot to run the necessary calculations through the computer. “Ten minutes, with a margin of error.”

Arthur nodded and waited tensely. “Elyan, turn us around to face it. Our shields are strongest in front.”

Merlin felt the storm drawing closer. It took him no time to realize that it was no ordinary solar flare storm. There was wild, potent, released magic in the surge. Merlin quickly threw another layer of protection on top of the existing shields to ward off the magic. He barely finished adding the new layer when he felt the surge hit the shields.

“Impact,” Elyan said.


	4. Nemeth

The funny thing about solar surges was that it was almost entirely light and radiation energy. When the storm hit, it did not push the ship or move anything. Rather it washed over the ship and the harsh UV and radiation began burning the ship from the outside. Merlin let out an audible gasp as the magic energy hit him like a punch to the gut. If his shields had not been in place, the radiation would have gone straight through the ship as if it wasn’t even there, leaving behind the harsh aftereffects of radiation poisoning.

Arthur watched Merlin worriedly as the solar surge passed around the ship. Merlin’s only sign that the storm reached them was the slight gasp, but since then, his bonded had been unearthly still. The command center was quiet as the crew watched the visible spectrum of the solar surge sweep around the ship. It was a bright golden color surging around them. Arthur vaguely noted his appreciation that Elyan raised the polarized UV tinting on the outer windows so they were not blinded by the light.

Merlin’s eyebrow ticked in concentration as he defended the ship with his shields. As it turned out, the radiation was not the largest threat to the ship, but rather the violent magic. Merlin continued to repair weak spots in his shield and he occasionally caught a ‘taste’ of the magic behind the storm. It was familiar to him. It felt like Drakarin magic, powerful and rooted in the Old Religion. As he sensed around the magic a bit more, he realized that the magic was familiar because it was the same energy pattern that was sent out when a Drakarin mage had an Alíese. Merlin filed the thought away for contemplation later. At the moment he had to focus on holding the shields.

The storm seemed to last forever. As the minutes dragged on, Arthur could sense Merlin growing weaker through the bond. At six minutes into the storm, Arthur began to signal Leon to call in Corporal Alvarr just as Merlin’s energy surged back up. Arthur held up a hand to tell Leon to hold on. He wasn’t sure what Merlin was doing, but it seemed like he was tapping levels of energy individually until it ran empty before progressing down to the next level. Arthur had never heard of magic being used in this manner – like a well of energy in each level, but he supposed that if anyone could do it, it would be Merlin. Three more minutes passed and Arthur felt the same as Merlin stepped down another level. Arthur reached through their bond – expecting to feel pearl brown magic – and was surprised to realize that it was pearl red, only a step below the black. Morgana was right – Merlin’s power was growing. He must have started higher than pearl black at the pearl silver.

The light faded from around the ship. Nobody moved until Merlin took a deep gasping breath and raised his head. Merlin reached up to tug his helmet off, but his hands were trembling too much to deal with the straps and buttons. Arthur pushed his hands gently away and took the helmet off for him, before removing his own. Merlin instantly met his eyes, but Arthur didn’t have to see his face to read the weariness in him. Merlin reached up to unlock the lifeline hose, but his hands didn’t seem to have the strength. Arthur crouched down beside him and placed his own hand over Merlin’s.

‘ _I can do it myself,’_ Merlin complained through the bond.

‘ _Let me help,’_ Arthur replied, _‘No one will think you are weak. You saved us. Thank you._ ’

Merlin smiled wearily at him and leaned forward into Arthur’s embrace. Over Merlin’s shoulder, Arthur could see that the rest of the room were trying to give them privacy by not looking over.

‘ _Can you walk?’_ Arthur asked, pulling back from the hug.

Merlin glared about him and opened his mouth to snap at Arthur, but then he caught sight of the earnest concern in Arthur’s eyes and reconsidered. His whole body felt tired. Tremors ran through his body. Merlin sighed out softly, “I don’t think so.”

Arthur nodded and stood up, pulling Merlin up beside him with a supportive arm. Arthur crouched down and slid his other arm behind Merlin’s knees, picking him up completely. Merlin squeaked with surprise but didn’t complain, though he hid his face in Arthur’s shoulder as he wrapped his arms around Arthur’s neck to stabilize himself. Arthur nodded at the men on the deck who watched them go with concern. He made eye contact with Leon as he left.

Arthur carried Merlin through the halls to their rooms. “How do you feel?”

“Like I was just hit by a hover train,” Merlin mumbled softly. “There was magic in the surge – like an Alíese. It was Drakarin and it was strong – like it was a level –”

“Gold,” Arthur finished for him, hefting Merlin up to shift his arms slightly, “It was gold.”

“Yeah,” Merlin sighed out and fell silent. Arthur’s mind spun with this revelation. There was only one gold level Drakarin – Nimueh – and she was the strongest after Merlin. They were on the other side of the galaxy from Draka. They knew that there had already been an attempt on Merlin, could it be possible that all the powerful Drakarin were a target?

Arthur peeked down at Merlin to realize that he had slipped into sleep. They reached their rooms and Arthur turned Merlin slightly so that he could get a finger on the keypad and typed in the access code. He laid Merlin gently down and as much as he wanted to crawl in bed behind Merlin, he knew that he had duties. He gently laid a kiss on Merlin’s forehead. Merlin’s eyes blinked open and he smiled back at Arthur, raising a hand to brush Arthur’s face. Arthur kissed the hand and let it rest back on the bed. Merlin slipped back away into sleep.

* * *

 

Arthur was relieved to switch off with Leon for the night. He headed to their rooms eager to check on Merlin. He had stopped by around lunchtime and saw that Merlin was still sleeping soundly, but surely Merlin was awake now. The room door slid open and the first thing Arthur noticed was that the bed was empty. “Merlin?” Arthur asked stepping into the room. He pushed the door to the bathroom open to find it empty as well. Arthur rolled his eyes – Merlin must have wakened and headed to the medical ward. He noted Merlin’s communicator still clipped to the abandoned emergency suit. He quickly walked to the other side of the ship to the medical ward.

“Attention! Officer on deck!” a cadet called out and saluted.

“At ease,” Arthur said as he tried to catch site of Merlin behind the privacy curtains in the medical ward. “Can you tell Lieutenant Drakarin to come over?”

The cadet turned to Arthur with a puzzled look, “Sir, Lieutenant Drakarin has not been here in the medical ward all day.”

Arthur frowned and thanked the cadet before leaving. “Will,” he paged through his communicator.

“How’s Merlin?” came Will’s reply.

“You mean he isn’t with you?” Arthur asked.

“Uh nope. Been in the engine rooms with Perce all day.”

“Thanks Will.”

Arthur’s eyebrows creased and he walked by the other areas that he could think to find Merlin. The mess hall was filled with day shift workers getting dinner. Arthur didn’t enter because he didn’t want to cause a commotion, but a quick eye around the room as he passed revealed that Merlin wasn’t there either. The meditation room and exercise rooms were just as empty. With a frustrated huff, Arthur turned to go back to the command deck. _‘Merlin! Where are you?’_ Arthur called through the bond, but there was no reply.

“Leon,” Arthur said as he walked onto the deck, “Can you send out an announcement for Merlin to come here?”

Leon sent Arthur a puzzled look – Arthur shrugged in reply. Leon didn’t ask further since he didn’t want to be caught up in any lover’s spats. “Lieutenant Drakarin please report to command. Lieutenant Drakarin report to command,” Leon’s voice range through the ships speakers.

Arthur nodded his thanks and took an empty seat in the back as he waited for Merlin. Fifteen minutes later when Merlin was still not on the command deck, Arthur was pacing angrily. “Where is he?” Arthur snarled. “Lance – find where Merlin last keyed.”

Lance quickly pulled up Merlin’s code records, “Last access point was – oh that’s strange –”

Arthur looked up sharply and stepped quickly behind Lance. “The holding bay?”

“Yeah… The one with the pods from the Hengist.”

Arthur frowned. Something wasn’t right. ‘ _Merlin. Please answer me._ ’ The other end of the bond was quiet.

“Bring up the video,” Arthur said tersely. Lance quickly complied and a screen appeared with the holding bay. Arthur quickly counted the pods – “Five,” Arthur cursed. One was missing. Arthur leaned over Lance’s shoulder and put one hand on the desk. “Rewind the video feed from today to the same time Merlin keyed in… Play it forward.”

The command deck was tense. Everyone gathered nearby to watch the video feeds. Arthur held his breath as they watched the video of the holding bay. A minute or two passed with no action and then a figure appeared pushing a large laundry cart. The figure reached into the cart and pulled out an unconscious man, placing the man in the pod closest to the outer door. The man walked back over the bay key panel. The sequence to disengage the open the outer door was triggered. The figure ran back to the pod and pulled it closed. Arthur could tell that the magnet on the pod was disabled as it started to float as the airlock opened to space. The other pods stayed down as their magnets were still engaged. “Who the fuck is that and how did they get on my ship?” Arthur let his anger burn to keep away the panic that was building in his heart.

Lance played back the sequence and paused on the best view of the figure. He zoomed in and clarified the picture. The man was dark-skinned with a bald head and a trimmed black beard. “Run it through the servers. While that’s loading, follow the video feeds back. Figure out where he came from and where he went in the ship.”

Piece by piece Lance collected the video streams and compiled them. The man had appeared from a trapdoor in the pod that had contained the wilddeoren. From there, the man went to the laundry where he gathered a set of standard issue uniforms and a laundry cart. Arthur and Leon watched as the man walked around the ship until he came to the captain’s quarters, where he stowed the cart into a nearby closet before he crept into the air duct across the hall and sat in waiting. After Arthur left the rooms after checking up on Merlin, the man popped out of the duct, grabbed the cart from the closet and typed in Arthur’s code to enter the room. He exited twenty minute later with cart fuller than it had been before.

Arthur grabbed his hair in distress. “Fuck fuck FUCK!” Arthur screamed and kicked at a waste bin sending it flying across the room. Leon ducked just in time to avoid his head being taken off by the metal bin. “Tell me we put tracking tags on the pods.”

“Yessir, Will did that after he escorted the prisoners to the cells.”

“What are you waiting for? Pull up the trackers.”

Lance quickly dismissed the tracking numbers that were marked at their position and focused on the other tag, marking its position on a map. “How far?” Arthur asked.

“If I have the timeline right, it’s where we left it. The pod hasn’t moved, so we’re six and a half hours away at this speed.”

“Turn around. Go back as fast as we can – full light speed. Did the search come up with any hits?”

Lance pulled up the database search. “The picture matches that of Myror – a known assassin. He’s been attributed with the deaths of several famous people throughout the galaxy. He was caught once before which is how they have him on file, but he escaped while on the ship en route to the Albion Prison.”

Arthur closed his eyes – there was no guarantee that Merlin was even still living. If the assassin was after him, the smart thing to do would have been to kill Merlin first – but then, why take the body?

Leon relinquished the captain’s chair and Arthur sat heavily, deep in thought. He was swirling with anger and worry and the frown didn’t leave his face as they headed back to the pod.

When they were an hour away from the pod’s position – nine hours from when the abduction had first taken place – Lance shook everyone out of their stupor as he remarked, “The pod is moving.” Arthur didn’t have to say anything for Lance to redirect the course toward the pod’s changing position. It was difficult to redirect a ship at light speed – there were several factors to continue, but Lance was a very skilled pilot and changed the course quickly.

The tracker was now moving at the same speed they were, so the distance between them was maintained. “Can we figure out what ship we are following – type, number, name, anything?” Arthur asked.

The deck quickly went to work getting the information for Arthur. “It’s a merchant vessel, named the Fyrien II. The ship is Mercian freighter. Call number KF3423LS. Trade route is between the Mercian Empire and Deira.”

Arthur was reluctant to hail the ship’s captain – not knowing if the merchants were in league with Myror.

“Next docking station?”

“Not in Albion,” Elyan said reluctantly. “Tamor - the Mercian capital.”

“How far are we from the border? Are there any border patrol that can stop it before it enters Mercia?”

“It’s still a day’s travel to the border. We can contact the patrol – there should be an outpost since this is a popular route.”

“Stay on the course. I have to contact Albion about stopping that ship.”

Arthur’s conversation with Commander Ruadan was short. After the situation was explained, Ruadan was quick to provide support – the abduction of a senator’s significant other was a serious matter for the Federation security – especially when the vessel holding that person was headed to enemy territory.

“Border patrol has been contacted. They will stop the ship and search it. The ISS Dragon is allowed to pursue until the border. Go any farther Pendrakan and it’s an act of war.”

“Understood sir,” Arthur agreed before signing off the call.

He sat in silence for a few minutes before phoning the Drakarin palace. Something had been nagging him all day – what Merlin had said about gold magic. The call with Merlin’s parents was awful. Arthur never felt so low in his life. Where Hunith’s face expressed her grief, Balinor’s expression was stone. Arthur did get the news he needed from the call. Nimueh disappeared a month ago. Her disappearance was considered hostile because there were indications of a struggle, but until now, there had not been any sign that she was no longer on the planet. Hunith thanked Arthur for keeping them updated and mentioned that they would make preparations for Nimueh’s funeral – or ‘Ierfan’ as Hunith called it, the ritual funeral feast and pyre.

Arthur barely slept that night. The ship kept pace with the _Fyrien II_ and there was no indication that the pod had moved. Arthur had to hope that Merlin was there. He didn’t know what he would do if Merlin wasn’t.

They reached the border patrol station at midafternoon. The _Fyrien II_ was still docked as well. Arthur quickly disembarked and walked to the border patrol office. A man who Arthur surmised was the captain was arguing with the border patrol officer.

“You are holding up my schedule. I demand to know what for!”

“For me,” Arthur stated from behind the man.

The angry captain spun around and glared at Arthur, taking in the Fleet uniform. “And who might you be?” The merchant asked in a nicer tone than the one he had been yelling with before.

“Captain Arturo Pendrakan, Senator of Draka and crown prince of the Drakan race. My bonded, Emrys Merlin Drakarin was abducted and I have reason to believe that your ship picked him up.”

Arthur watched the man deflate as Arthur stated his titles – anger quickly being dispelled in an effort to please. “Your grace, I apologize for my earlier tone. We picked up a pod yesterday containing two men – the first man was large, dark and bald. The other was pale and skinny with black hair and I only saw him sleep. The first, a Mr. Ror, claimed that the second had too much to drink on the pod and was recovering.”

“The second man matches the description of my bonded. Is he still on your ship?”  Arthur was crossing his fingers in hope, barely restraining himself from running onto the merchant vessel to find Merlin.

“I’m afraid they are not. Mr. Ror hailed another ship to dock with us in flight and pick them up.”

Arthur’s eyes closed tight in disbelief. They had been so close. “Can you provide the details of the ship?”

Twenty minutes later Arthur had the details of the second ship – a ship by the name of _Kendrick_ , which according to the border patrol was a Mercian pirate ship that often caused trouble on the border. The merchant captain was able to provide them with the pirate ship’s call number that Myror had used to call the ship – a rare find as pirates often kept their call number’s a close secret. A call number could be used to trace the ships as well as open up communication between other ships. The merchant captain also handed over the pod. Scratched roughly into the back wall – as if made with a button – was Arthur’s name in all caps. Arthur had to excuse himself to not lose it in front of all his men.

The border patrol station had better equipment for ship tracking, so the border officers were able to pull up the ship’s location – which was already past the border into Mercian territory. The border office was excited to have the pirate’s call number and swore they would be taken in when they next passed over into Albion territory.

Arthur sat heavily on his bed, trying to think of a plan to save Merlin, but as a Senator, he was expressly forbidden to go into Mercia as Ruadan had reminded him earlier. He couldn’t even think though – not really with Merlin’s scent all around him in their room.

A knock on the door stirred him. He opened the door to find Will, Percy, Gwaine, and Lance – except all were in normal clothing. He didn’t need an explanation to know what this was.

“You need someone on the inside. We’re, uh – what’s the word? – deserting,” Will said. “We’ll find him, Arthur.”

Arthur looked over the four of them, “No…”

“No?” Will repeated dumbstruck. “Look – I don’t know who you –”

“I have no problem with you _going_. In fact I would have begged you if I hadn’t been so upset that I couldn’t go,” Arthur interrupted. The four men were reminded of Arthur’s phrase that he could not ask his men to do something that he couldn’t. “But I can’t let _all_ of you go. I won’t be able to explain why I don’t have a weapons specialist on-board whenever I’m asked.”

Will and Gwaine looked at each other. Will raised an eyebrow and a fist imperceptibly. Gwaine smirked and match his expression. Arthur thought they were about to duke it out in the corridor, when Percy laid a heavy hand on Gwaine’s shoulder. Gwaine glanced back at Percy and the air seemed to escape out of him. “Alright,” Gwaine conceded. “I’ll stay.”

A pilot, flight engineer, and a weapons specialist – the perfect team to set out on their own mission. He nodded and his gratitude freely filled on his face. “I’ll keep you on the official rosters – so you’ll have a place when you return. And Will? May the gods guide you.”

Will half smiled and nodded back before turning away. No more words were needed. Gwaine clasped Arthur on the arm in silent support as they watched the three man team disappear around the corner. “Thank you, Gwaine,” Arthur said softly, clasping his hand around Gwaine’s arm in reassurance before he stepped back and closed the door. He fell heavily into the bed and buried his head in Merlin’s pillow.

* * *

Merlin didn’t remember much of how he got here – it was all hazy with a few lucid moments. Whoever had taken him kept him well under drugs. He wasn’t even sure where ‘here’ was. In fact all he really knew was that he was far away from Arthur and that drug withdrawals were shit.

He didn’t know the date. He hadn’t eaten in several days. Anything in his stomach came right back out as another set of withdrawals passed through his system. This was the first day he had felt marginally back to his usual self. He was in a landing pod. Though he recalled it had been more of a crash landing than anything, probably because he wasn’t in any state to land a pod under the drugs. He was lucky he only had a few bruises and scrapes. He thought that it had been three days since he crashed, but he wasn’t sure. He was alone. The pod had supplies of water and food. A medical kit with an oxygen respirator in case the planet’s atmosphere was inhospitable.

The pod was in a bad shape. If he wanted to get off this planet, it wasn’t going to be with this scrap metal. The front screen had obviously suffered damage, because the computer monitor that would normally act as a window was dark. He tried to reboot the computers – shocking his fingers when they came in contact with exposed wire. Sucking on his stinging fingers, Merlin salvaged around the pod. A communicator – he tested it out – no signals within the radius. He found a secondary computer screen and was able to get it to load. The screen flickered though. Merlin pin-pointed his location with the computer, but whenever he tried to send a signal out, the computer issued an error message. Apparently the communications equipment was damaged in landing.

Merlin growled with frustration. No use in knowing where here was if he couldn’t use it to get someone to find him. He tried the door, but it was bent and jammed in place. He kicked the door and then fell back into his chair promptly, worn out from that small bit of exertion. He took a drink of water and fell asleep.

The next day was better. He was able to get the main computer system back up – thank goodness for all those nights in his youth where Will forced him to play around with computers. He even got a signal in, but he still couldn’t get one out. Wasn’t much, but it was a start. The door was still jammed though. Merlin sighed in frustration. Arthur would know how to… Merlin stopped that train of thought. It wasn’t productive to think about Arthur. Merlin threw his weight into the door. “Move! Dammit!” Merlin yelled at the door. It didn’t budge. Merlin tried to keep himself from panicking, but he’d never been good with enclosed spaces. He slid down the door to the floor and brought his knees up to his chest. He could swear the walls were closing in on him. His breaths were shallow and quick and his head was light and fuzzy. Merlin turned to the side and couldn’t stop himself from vomiting. Placing his head between his knees, Merlin whispered the mantra that he always used to help him meditate until he was so deep into his meditative state that he lost sense of time.

The third day – sixth after landing? Merlin wasn’t sure – was the best so far. His energy was back up. His magic was even coming back after the suppression of the drugs. He was sick of eating the food packets though. He managed to pull up a search mainframe from the pod’s internal database and used it to figure out where he was. His coordinates put him on the Mercian planet of Nemeth – a class 5 planet with no contact with other planetary systems. The air quality was similar to his home on Draka – _thank the gods,_ Merlin thought. He wasn’t sure he would be able to stay in the pod much longer, but he could leave the pod reassured that he would be able to breathe this planet’s air. Arthur would come and rescue him. He was certain of it. Nemeth was a temperate forested planet. The native intelligent race was humanoid. The societies were mostly primitive, but there was record of one advanced society. There were no details on the planet’s specific geography. Merlin tinkered with the communicator, trying to boost the signal radius. Only silence and static echoed back down the line. Similar to the same silence that he felt whenever he reached down to the bond. Merlin dropped the device on his lap and raised his fist to stifle his sobs, but nothing stopped the rest of his breakdown. He fell asleep on the floor with his nose still running and tears streaking down his face.

Merlin woke up stiff, body aching from sleeping on the bits and parts of the ship strewn across the floor. The white noise of the communicator crackled softly. There was nothing more to be done there. He had food for another week, but things were looking less optimistic. He had to get out of the pod and find people and food. That day Merlin prepared. He condensed all the food and water into a bag to carry. He saved all the supplies he could fit from the medicine kit. He salvaged rope from the pod’s tie-downs, knotting as much of it as he could into one long rope before storing it in the bag. The pod had no weapons on board other than a small paring knife. That was fine. He could be so much more efficient with his magic anyway. He spent a good portion of the morning composing a signal for the ship to broadcast and relay to the communicator. A continuous loop of an SOS message sent to the stars. He set up the power to come from the regenerative solar panels rather than the ship’s fuel and battery, and re-routed the power supply to support only the signal. Sleep came in the form of his own voice crackling softly back through the line, “… is Emrys Merlin Drakarin. I crashed and am stranded on planet Nemeth. Please help. The date is…”

Merlin was up early the next morning. He knew that his physical strength was no match for the door, so he threw his magic into it and shoved the door open. It groaned open with the scraping sound of metal on metal. Merlin slowly stuck his head out of the pod after a few moments passed with no movement outside of the ship. Two suns shown overhead. The weather was warm, but Merlin grabbed his coat anyway and slung his bag over his shoulder. With no particular reason other than the inability to give up hope, Merlin grabbed the communicator and tucked the small device into his pocket. Merlin dropped down to the ground. He had no particular direction, so he simply started walking.

* * *

 

Arthur swirled his wine around the cup, frowning at the deep red color. Three months. Three months since he saw Merlin – heard his chuckle – been called a prat – held him – kissed him. The bond was silent – not because Merlin was dead, Arthur held out – but because the distance between them was simply too great. He had been working every waking minute to hash out a peace treaty with Mercia. It was so stupid that he couldn’t just cross the border – but Mercia promised to shoot down any Fleet ship that crossed the border – and borders in space were always dubious at best, so it was best to stay well within the edge of the Albion galaxies. Arthur knew it was better to be alive and looking for Merlin than dead. He had to assume that Will, Percy, and Lance were making headway. So Arthur turned his ship around to do what he did next best – diplomacy.

He was currently working up the latest response to Mercia’s treaty proposal. The unfinished document displayed on the bright screen. The cursor blinked at him like a clock ticking down every hour he was away from Merlin. He was so close to cementing a deal between the Albion Federation and the Mercian Empire. The Mercian system was smaller – only two galaxies compared to Albion’s five – but the Mercian system was rich in habitable planets. Arthur could only groan at the thought of all the potential places Merlin could be. It was best not to think of it until he had solidified a way across the border.

They tracked down all the leads from Nimueh’s abduction – at least all the leads on this side of the border. Arthur regularly sent message updates to Percy's private account with potential leads in Mercia, but he had not heard any further word from the three-man team. 

A knock on the door startled him from his reverie. “Come in,” Arthur called and pressed the button on his desk to slide open the door. His Senate office was a startling room of crisp smooth metal and glass walls. One entire wall was a screen able to stream news and videos simultaneously from all over the system – but all the screens were off at the moment to allow him to concentrate. He was lucky to have a wall windows floor to ceiling, which allowed the natural light to filter in. He was on an upper floor of the Senate building, but the height only made him want to dive off the edge and transform into his dragon shape and fly far away from this place – preferably to Merlin.

A flicker of surprise crossed his face as Emperor Godwyn crossed the threshold. Arthur quickly smoothed his face and his chair scraped the floor as he quickly stood up to bow to the Emperor. “Sit down, Arthur,” Godwyn said kindly, waving off Arthur’s bow and settling himself into a chair across the desk. One of the Imperial Guard – Godwyn’s personal bodyguards stood stoically by door as it slid shut.

Arthur sat back down into his chair, uncertain about what this impromptu meeting was about. He looked expectantly at Godwyn.

Godwyn looked around the office – at its cold impersonal walls. “I remember when this was your mother’s office. Looked so different back then. There used to be a tree over in the corner there,” –Godwyn motioned with his hand – “and she had pictures up on the wall of Uther and Draka. Said she always needed a reminder…” Godwyn trailed off and peered at Arthur, “But I don’t suppose those things matter right now, do they Arthur?”

“I’m always interested in stories about my mother, sir.”

“Ah, I merely meant to imply that you didn’t want to listen to an old man’s prattle at the moment.”

Arthur frowned briefly at the blinking cursor on the document. The cursor hadn’t moved in about an hour. “Honestly, sir, I wasn’t getting much done.”

“Too much on the mind,” Godwyn said rhetorically, “Not that I wish to add to your mind’s burden, but I have come to you today with an offer and a request.” Godwyn paused and looked casually around the office again, but he eyes returned to Arthur soon as the silence stretched. Arthur wasn’t sure what to say, but Godwyn continued on unbothered, “You’ve done incredible work sealing out this agreement with Mercia. I believe you are writing up the final renegotiations?” Arthur nodded, and Godwyn continued, “Your contributions to the Senate since you joined a year ago have been outstanding – instrumental even – and that’s without considering your simultaneous service in the Fleet. You are quite a remarkable young man.”

Arthur blushed slightly with the praise. He never learned how to take compliments from people he looked up to – Merlin used to needle him endlessly about it. “Thank you, sir. Only doing my duty.”

“I beg to differ,” Godwyn stated, “There are hundreds of Senators who have held their seats for decades and have done less than you. Here is the offer – I would like you to accompany me to Tamor to sign the treaty. I understand that there is a person of value to you that has been hidden behind the Mercian border for some time now. You would be required to attend the official ceremonies and then I have no doubt that Emperor Bayard would allow you a, shall we say, tour of his system. How does this sound?”

Arthur nearly choked – an invitation into Mercia. “Sir… Thank you, sir. I would be honored to go with you.”

Godwyn smiled obligingly, “And now for my request. I’m an old man, Arthur – getting older every day, dare I say. And even all of our achievements and magic can’t keep the heart going when it’s time to stop. I’ve watched you over the past two years – since Draka signed its own treaty – you’ve handled every situation remarkably, even the ones that are deeply personal. You’ve done the Federation a great service. We are closer to peace with Mercia than we have been in two centuries. I would like to name you as my successor. I have held off for too long without naming an heir. As of the moment, my unofficial successor – and by that I mean it’s written in the will, but no one’s been told – is Senator Annis, but she’s as far in her years as I am! Albion needs a young man like you to lead her. There is not another being in the senate that I could trust more to lead our federacy.”

“Sir…”

“Ah, hear me out, Arthur. Let me go through some of the details. You would hold your Senate position until my death - or resignation – upon which you would be crowned Emperor. In the meantime you would be the Imperial Crown Prince, styled as Imperial Highness. Most of your duties would be minor until you take the full office, but you would be expected to attend meetings and ceremonies with other system and galaxy rulers. You would work with me to learn the roles of the office. Your main duty at the time being would be to name a new location for Albion once you take the throne, so that construction can begin on the official buildings. You would be allowed to finish your duration of service with the Fleet, provided you form an official bodyguard unit. Now – as Emperor, the main duty is to hold the peace in our system – handle disputes among the planets and with other galactic systems as well. I have no doubt that you would excel in this role. The Emperor is also the leader of the Albion Fleet – and as such leads all major wartime decisions. Your military background will serve you quite well here. And of course, the Emperor is responsible for signing legislation scripted by the Senate. The hammer and the pen, so to speak.” Godwyn looked at Arthur expectantly.

Arthur was at a slight loss for words – he never expected this. “Sir, it is a privilege that you ask this of me, however I find myself at a loss of how to respond. I cannot make a decision on this until I can ask my bonded – as this will affect him as well as me. And as you know, my bonded is… missing, at the moment.”

Godwyn nodded, “Well-spoken. We’ll make it a conditional agreement until your Merlin has been found. And then I expect a formal answer and if you agree, it will be announced at that point. May I have your agreement though – as my condition for holding out on your response – that should I pass unexpectedly, you can be named my successor?”

Arthur massaged his neck with a hand in thought. “Yes, I believe Merlin would surely understand the necessity.”

The emperor smiled in response, “Perfect, well I will leave you to your work then, Arthur. You’ll be getting some documents from my office shortly – in an unofficial capacity. And I believe that we depart for Tamor in three days.”

Arthur stood with Godwyn and bowed. “A pleasure to see you Arthur!” he called as he and his bodyguard left the room.

Arthur’s mind whirled. What would Merlin think about being the consort to an Emperor?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I thought I would get more done over the holidays, but with family around, ha, not to be so...


	5. Tamor

When he set out from the landing pod, Merlin walked in one direction. This part of Nemeth seemed similar to the forests of Draka or Gawant – though more untamed and unexplored. On his first day walking, he used his magic to hone a large knife out of tree bark – just in case he couldn’t use magic. He could practically imagine the smug grin on Arthur’s face if he knew Merlin was following his advice. He didn’t see much sign of life – no animals or people – only trees. The trees had a magnificence to them – they were tall and strong. Some trees had colors in the bark and others had leaves of colors Merlin had never seen before – purples and pinks and blues. Some trunks were wider than ten men wrapped around with their fingertips touching.

Merlin bunked down that night on the rough ground, using his pack and jacket as a make-shift pillow. He ate a poor meal of the rations taken from the ship. He woke up that night to music. It was almost like a collection of voices – high whispery notes floated atop a low humming bass. At first Merlin wasn’t sure what to do – he was certain there must be people nearby, but uncertain whether they were hostile or friendly. Slowly he sat up, but saw no sign of people or telltale indication of firelight. The voices were rough, but the words of the song were long and smoothed out the gravelly quality of the voices. He was enthralled by the singing.  The song echoed hauntingly through the forest, as if a lament sung by hundreds.

As Merlin listened, he reached his magic out to discover who was singing. His magic resonated with something all around him. Closing his eyes, Merlin reached out though his magic and felt tall limbs and deep roots. The sound of the melody changed – it grew louder and stronger, changing from an elegy to a victorious aria. The trees were _alive_ – in a way he had never known trees to be alive. They were sentient. The trees were singing and much more alive than any tree he had known on Draka. Of course growing up in Ealdor had not exposed him too many trees, but rather of the trees he had known from his year spent in Camelot, traipsing through the forest or soaring over their tops with Arthur.

Merlin put his near to the nearest tree and realized that the sound came from within the tree – like the sound was created by vibrations deep inside. Amazed, Merlin laid back down and listened to the choir. It didn’t take much time before he couldn’t resist the lull of the tune pulling him back to sleep.

It wasn’t until the afternoon of the third day of walking that Merlin came across the people. He had almost walked straight into them, they snuck upon him so quietly. He always had the option of protecting himself with magic – as Arthur had drilled into his head over the past year – but he was rather happy to see a face after so many days alone. He tried to greet them, but they tensed and pushed their swords and spears closer to him when he raised his hand and opened his mouth to speak. Deciding it was just best to follow them, Merlin snapped his mouth closed, shrugged, and started moving the direction they were prodding him. They guided him back to a village of small brick buildings tucked between the trees. The buildings were short and squat, built with large bricks of stone and mud. The men and women who had found him didn’t say a word only nudged him along with their weapons whenever he started speaking.

They marched him right into the center of the village and called out. Their language was similar to old Ealdorian in rhythm, but Merlin didn’t recognize any words. An irritated voice answered back and there was some yelling back and forth before an older woman marched out of a small house. As soon as she caught sight of Merlin, her irritated expression fell away. Merlin couldn’t quite tell if it was shock, awe, disbelief, reverence, or a combination of all. Merlin shuffled nervously as the woman walked up to him and cupped his cheeks with her weathered hands in a motherly fashion. Her voice was soft, but the emphasis on her words was strong: _“Drakarin.”_

Merlin’s face transformed into shock – how did this lady know he was Drakarin? How did she even know what Drakarin was? “Yes?”

The woman shook her head, “ _Bist ealdorwisa - Drakarin. Ic_ _ácnæwe úre æðelu_. _Hwæt sy ágennama_? _”_ The woman knew his heritage and bloodline. She was speaking in the language of magic – Merlin quickly realized. The language of magic was universal, as old as time, and never changed.

“My name is Emrys Merlin Drakarin,” Merlin answered the women in the same language.

The woman nodded at him and smiled, before turning around to look at the people who brought him. She began yelling furiously in her native language, vehement arm gestures accompanied her words. Suddenly Merlin found himself alone in the center of the village with the old woman. “How did you get here?”

“I came from far away – from the stars.”

The woman huffed out a laugh, “Where you come from is no mystery – Draka. I asked how a member of the Drakarin family came to be here.”

“How do you know about Draka and my family?” Merlin asked incredulously. When he received no answer from her, but a stern look, Merlin sighed. “I was taken and they gave me a drug – I don’t remember much until I crashed here.”

The woman nodded. “My name is Nelía. I am the elder and priestess of these people. Our history is passed through me. There are very few royal magical bloodlines, and so it is hard to not notice when one is standing before you.” Nelia inclined her head as if to bow. “My people did not come from here either, but from Draka long ago. The first people here crash landed as well – during the time of Bruta. There weren’t enough of the dragon people on the ship – forgive me, their name has be lost –”

“Drakan,” Merlin provided.

“There were too few of them and they passed within a few generations. We had nothing but our magic and no way to help those who are powerful – until we discovered the trees. We could pour all our magic into them and they would absorb it. Since the trees channel the energy, those of us born with magic live here in the forest. We choose not to harm the trees, but only use what the trees give us.”

“I remember learning about the lost ship. There is a monument in Ealdor that was built long ago for your ancestors. It was a tragedy for Draka.”

Nelia gave him a canteen of water and offered him some fruit. She explained how they managed without a bonding ceremony. They didn’t place seals on children at birth, but rather taught the kids to connect to the trees from an early age. Merlin thought this was a great idea – surely the magic wouldn’t surge as powerfully in the Arisan ceremony if the excess magic was siphoned from a young age. The most powerful magic user was Nelia, at brown level. Most of the higher level magic users had quickly passed in the early years of the planet’s habitation, leaving mostly blue and lower users, with the occasional upper level user like Nelia.

“So what about people without magic? Where do they live?”

“There is a city a day’s walk west. It is more advanced than for us among the trees. All children with magic come here to be raised among the trees. Most children born without or very little magic choose to move to the city when they come of age. Those with magic can choose to live wherever, but the majority of us have grown to love these trees, so we stay here.”

“I have never seen trees like these here.” Merlin’s heart was lifting in that maybe he had more time than he thought to get off the planet. If the trees could absorb his energy, he would be safe until Arthur found him.

“They are special. They protect us and we give them energy to grow tall and strong. You have heard their songs. They warned me of your arrival days ago. I sent out teams to find you, but I apologize they met you rudely,” Nelia smiled gently at him. As she spoke she was looking at the towering branches above. “I worry that you might overwhelm the trees. Your magic is much stronger than any here. Unlike anything I know of.”

Merlin huffed a disappointed laugh, “It’s more than most people know. If what you say is true and the trees cannot help, then I need to go home as soon as possible.”

“We do not have the ability to send you. I will have a messenger go to the city tomorrow. Maybe you will find help there.”

* * *

 

Lance weaved his way quickly through the crowded streets of Tamor. Tamor, capital of the Mercian systems, was located in a tropical area. The building were made of smooth, white sandstone – not of bricks, but as if they had been carved in place. He pulled his headscarf up to cover more of his face. Though he was the darkest colored of the three, he was too fair to match the deep caramel skin of the 

Tamor natives. And if there was one thing that he had learned during their stay, was that Tamorian’s disliked outsiders. The hatred stemmed from the city’s long history of oppression from the fair-skinned nobility. The ruling class, though they had been on the planet Tamor for centuries, was still viewed with distrust by the natives, who had a long memory.

They were tracking down the last of Arthur’s leads. All the rest were dead ends and as time marched on the remaining trails were getting colder. They had kept radio silent from Arthur to preserve their location and covers. Lance hurried through the maze of alleys and streets until he reached a small nondescript green door – a small apartment they had found to hole up in for the last month.

Both Will and Percy looked up from their screens as he walked in. Lance looked at them as he unwrapped his head scarf, “You should really lock the door.”

Will shrugged, “So what did he say?”

“Mr. Ebor wanted fifty thousand Mercian crowns for his information.”

Percy raised his eyes, “So what happened?”

“Well, I couldn’t really fight him in the middle of the bar, so I slid a knife next to his balls and asked him again.”

Percy clucked, “Lance, what has Will done to you? You’ve been corrupted, my friend.”

Lance raised his eyebrows suggestively at Percy, “I think we know who was corrupted first…”

Will snorted, “It was Merlin. He corrupted me and then so on.”

Percy sighed dramatically, “I suppose once Arthur fell to Merlin’s corruption, the other knights were doomed to fall too.”

“So what did Mr. Ebor say after some encouragement?” Will asked, still typing away on the computer.

Lance rolled his eyes, sitting down beside them. “There’s a group called the Knights of Medhir. They have a mission to eradicate magic and its users. They were behind the attack on Nimueh.”

“And?”

“They are based out of a planet called Amata. They have the financial backing of the planet’s leader, a man named Serrum. He heard about the capture of Merlin – it was a point of boasting for the group that they could get the partner of an Albion senator. Their point is to show how destructive magic is, so they don’t kill their victims themselves, but rather let their magic consume them. Nimueh was just a test of how long a Drakan could go before they reached Alíese. She was stranded in space in a pod with broken navigation, food, and water. They kept Merlin drugged – even rigged up a life support system on his pod with IV to keep him drugged, but alive. They stranded his pod three days after they took him. Nimueh only lasted a week, so they didn’t want to hold him any longer.”

“Ebor was helpful,” Percy said with a slight wink at Lance, “It helps when you threaten a man’s most prized treasure.”

Will chuckled, “Did Ebor say whereabouts they left him?”

“No. I probably wouldn’t have trusted any coordinates if he had either.”

“True. Well it’s no matter – three days from when Merlin was kidnapped narrows the search down significantly. And there have been no more solar surges, so we have to assume one of three possibilities: 1) Merlin is still on the pod, 2) Merlin got off the pod or got picked up, o3) Merlin is… well… Anyway, the information gives us a maximum radius to work with assuming Merlin is still with the pod … based on maximum ship speeds.” A map of the Mercian system appeared on his screen. Will furiously typed some calculations before a red line appeared and mapped out from the center a three day radius from where Merlin was first taken. “We can eliminate all Albion territory – that’s been searched through. A pod jettisons at 2 leagues per second –“

“I love when you talk science,” Percy said suggestively. Lance threw a pillow at him.

“-Thanks babe. So on this map, the red is where the ship could have made it, and…” Will hit a few more buttons, “green shows is maximum amount of time the pod could have possible floated from the original edge.”

A larger green circle enclosed the red. Will zoomed in closer. “Well it’s a big area to search no doubt, but it’s a lot smaller than what we had to deal with before,” Lance said. “I’ll write up what we know and let’s send it to Arthur.”

* * *

 

Merlin swirled his spoon around his bowl of – well he could never remember the real name. It was a vegetable stew of sorts, made with a strange purple gourd-like vegetable. There were no native animals on Nemeth, so the people survived on the plants. He methodically chewed down until he could swallow it and grudgingly ate another. He had already pilfered through the bowl for the best bits of vegetation – the little green celery-like sticks. He really didn’t know how these people ate this day after day. He had only been with them for three days and he was tired of the gummy texture and bland taste.

Nelia sent a message to the city, so now they were waiting for the City to reply. In the meantime, Nelia taught Merlin how to siphon his energy into the trees. Merlin may not like the food on Nemeth, but he loved the trees. They lured him to sleep each night with their lullaby. The people in the village were much friendlier, and almost reverent, after Nelia explained to them who Merlin was and where he was from.

It was difficult to reach the trees – especially since it required him to override his existing bond with Arthur.

“You are pushing,” Nelia scolded him. “Trees don’t push. They move with the wind and they grow strong at the base. You must think like the tree!”

“I didn’t even know trees could think until a few days ago,” Merlin complained.

“Ayayay,” Nelia clucked, “It is like your bond – it must come from deep within your soul, not your mind. Try again. You will see. I will show you.”

Merlin nodded and closed his eyes, sinking into his meditation state, opening his mind and magic to his surroundings. He could feel the trees, like the heartbeat of the forest, as well as Nelia’s brown aura. He let himself relax into the meditation, the sound of leaves rustling in the wind carrying him deep into himself. When they had first started training, Merlin’s magic was a tightly wound, furious, bright ball of tangled energy – showing how much it had been suppressed lately. He didn’t know how long he had been drugged, but he was sure by the state of his magic that he hadn’t meditated for a while. Slowly Merlin unwound the tangles and now his magic was calm. Through his mind’s eye, Merlin saw Nelia’s magic flow from her to the trees. It didn’t flow into the trunk directly, but rather it sunk down into the ground and was absorbed through the roots. Merlin reached down – instead of across to the tree – letting his magic touch the roots of the tree. He almost gasped in surprise and withdrew when he felt the slight tug on his magic. He released his hold and let the tree begin to pull on his magic. The tree only pulled for a second before the sensation stopped.

He opened his eyes at Nelia. “What happened?”

Nelia laughed. “I think the tree had already had its fill of your energy – see – it is blooming out of season.” Small white blossoms appeared on red tipped new growth on the tree. “I think you understand now. New time, you might need to use more trees.”

Merlin continued practicing, stretching out to more trees at once until his magic finally felt quiet around midmorning after several hours of trial. They returned back to the village and sat down for lunch.

Nelia eyed him stirring the bowl. “It does not get better the longer you wait to eat it,” she said dryly.

Merlin ducked his head embarrassed, and took another bite. As he was eating, a low hum grew louder into a dull roar. “What is that noise?”

Nelia shook her head and pointed. A few vehicles appeared out of the woods – they were short and thin – designed for weaving between trees – with four short, wide wheels to traverse over the roots and fallen limbs. Two people sat on each vehicle, straddling the seat in the center, though there was a separate hand-hold for the passenger in back. Merlin sat in shock for a minute as the villagers walked over to the men on the vehicles and greeted them. He thought the planet didn’t have much technology.

The newcomers were ushered into the center of the village and greeted Nelia. Merlin only recognized their word for ‘hello.’ Nelia helped him over the past few days learn some phrases, but they had to speak slowly for him. The language sounded familiar to him because it was old Ealdorian, just with the changes time had wrought creating a new dialect of the language.

Nelia waved at Merlin and he stood to greet the people from the city as well. The people from the city created a stark contrast from the tree villagers (as Merlin called them in his head). The city people wore brightly dyed silk, loose clothing similar to Ealdor, but it stood out against the natural tones of the tree-villagers plain linen tunics and cloaks. The city people bowed their heads to him in respect. Merlin nodded back and smiled uncertainly as they asked him a question. Nelia spoke rapidly and they repeated their question much slower.

“The Queen has agreed to see you. Will you come with us to the city?”

Merlin turned to Nelia and spoke in the language of magic, “Queen?”

“We do have a government. You will find the queen is very friendly. She is of magic so you will have no problem speaking to her.”

“Are you coming with us?”

Nelia smiled gently, “No. My place is here among the trees. You will have no difficulty finding your way back here if you need.”

Merlin quickly gathered his bag and walked over to the four-wheeler vehicles. Merlin took the place of the messenger who had gone to the city and returned.

“Merlin, I think you’ll enjoy meeting our queen. She is Drakarin as well.” Before Merlin could respond, the vehicles were fired up with a roar of the engine and they were racing off through the trees. Merlin held on tightly to the handles as they surged over the forest floor in a bouncy roar.

The city came into view through the trees about an hour later. The buildings were all nestled in among the trees, made out of a yellow stone brick that rose up with the tree trunks beside them into glittering copper domes poking through the top of the forest. The city was built on a side of the hill. The trees thinned out going up the hill and at the very top, standing above the trees, was a magnificent building with soaring arches, columns, spires the all converged in the center with a large stone dome. The bumpy forest floor shifted to a paved stone road that wound around the city up the hill to the top. For buildings at the bottom of the hill, giant tree branches created skywalks to other buildings. The city was busy – many people were out and about, walking through the paved streets or on the tree skywalks. Some of the trees had paved stairs that twisted down the trunk to the ground.

Merlin took in the sights of the city as they zoomed through the streets. The lower city was very shaded with the canopy above, so the bright clothing of the city dwellers stood out. They passed a bustling market with people selling their wares. Merlin couldn’t help but frown at the booth selling the purple gourd fruit.

They rode up to the top of the hill to a large courtyard in front of the main building. Merlin assumed it was the palace as they came to a halt. If the building had seemed large next to the trees, it was nothing like standing beside it. Merlin climbed slowly off the vehicle – he was a bit sore from the bumpy ride – and followed the men across the courtyard to the large metal doors of the palace.

Inside the doors was a large lobby, lit by overhead skylights built into overhead arches. Long hallways split both left and right from the lobby. Merlin could see the pathway of a second and third floor ringing the walls of the lobby. Columns lined the floor railings looking down to the lobby. A reception desk sat at the far side corner of the lobby, beside another set of doors. The interior doors towered up two floors, made of wood, stained dark and carved intricately. Merlin could see large chains connected to the doors to open them.

His companions spoke a few words to the receptionist, who nodded and waved them through a smaller door that opened within the left door. Merlin found it funny that they had built the doors so big they needed a door in the door. His humor was abated by awe when he followed the men into the next room. It was a throne room, as shown by the stone throne at the far end. Columns of green marble lined all sides of the room and the galleries of the floors above. Skylights in the dome and windows above created a natural ambience of light. Gold filigree was inlaid into carvings across the ceiling of the dome. Four large dragon mosaics decorated the corners of the room. He could feel the strength of the magic poured into this room over time. It felt Drakarin – his blood seemed to tingle in response.

A woman entered through the opposite door. She dressed rather plainly, in an unembroidered olive green dress, compared to the other people Merlin had seen. The three men accompanying Merlin bowed. Merlin hovered uncertainly. Albion etiquette said he didn’t need to bow to this woman who must be the queen – especially if she was distantly related.

She spoke a few words to the men before she walked down the steps to speak with Merlin directly, speaking in the language of magic. “So you are the one who crashed here the other day? What is your name?”

“Yes. My name is Emrys Merlin Drakarin, but I go by Merlin.”

“Hello Merlin. I am Mithian Drakarin,” Mithian shared a small smile with him, “I assume Nelia told you of our history.”

“She did, but she neglected to mention there was a Drakarin family line here until as I was leaving.”

Mithian’s smile grew wider, “That sounds like Nelia to me. She likes to keep people on their toes.” She arched an eyebrow at him before turning to his companions and speaking a few words rapidly. Merlin was starting to tune into their dialect more closely – they chopped the vowels and extended the consonants, but the words were mostly the same. Mithian dismissed the men who bowed and exited the room.

“So they no longer speak our language on Draka?” Mithian asked.

Merlin answered in old Ealdorian, “I think the languages have changed too much over the years.”

Mithian frowned for a second as she replayed what he had said, then said slowly in her dialect, “Oh I see now. Understandable. Come let’s sit down for lunch. I’m sure you will enjoy our food better than the _curbita_ plant.”

“Is that the purple fruit?” Merlin asked as he followed Mithian through a side door onto a veranda overlooking the city. A table was set with plates of food of various vegetables, fruits, and casseroles.

“Yes – the _curbita_ is a good plant – it feeds many, easy to grow, nutritious – but it doesn’t taste very good.”

Merlin put a small bit of everything on his plate to see what he would like the best. They asked each other various questions as they ate – about each other’s planets, how Merlin came to crash here, what space life was like. Mithian continued to speak in her planet’s version of old Ealdorian and Merlin was slowly growing more comfortable with understanding the language. Mithian was a purple level magic user and had trained under Nelia until Mithian’s father was on his deathbed and called her back to the city to rule. She was well educated on the history of their people and was more willing to explain things than Nelia. They touched on serious topics like the Alíese. Mithian pointed out a distant spot on the horizon where the tree line seemed to stop. In the event of cases where the release was too much for the trees to handle – rare for the people of Nemeth, but occurred on occasion – the magic users were to transport themselves to the edge of the trees. It was an area called the Dead Lands – a solemn name that was a humble reminder of the reality of their situation. Mithian also pointed out a circular gap in the trees used for the Arisan.

Finally Merlin got to the question he was wanting to ask, “I did not realize there was a member of the Drakarin family on the ship that crashed here?”

“Well it wasn’t the crown prince,” Mithian grinned, deliberatively poking at him, “My ancestor was a cousin to the Drakarin at the time, the second son of a second son, but he shared the family name and was a good man by all accounts, so the people named him in charge here on Nemeth. Maybe if he had been a crown prince, we might have been found sooner. Unfortunately for us the materials here on Nemeth cannot fly a ship.”

“But you have those vehicles?”

“Ah, they run on magic. The metals necessary for computers – to navigate in space – that is what we do not have. When they first landed, the crash survivors searched across the planet. The old ship has been kept. My people tried to preserve it over time, but some parts were damaged irreparably in the crash. We can bring the parts of your ship back and maybe see if together there is enough for one ship, but that may take some time as there are very few people here who have studied the subject.”

“That’s the best idea I’ve heard,” Merlin said. “The ship I crashed in did not have any navigation system – it was simply an escape vessel, but it may have some of the parts needed to create another.”

* * *

 

Arthur sat in the galley of the ISS Phoenix with Emperor as the small dot of the planet Tamor grew larger in the viewing windows. Arthur had traveled most of the way here – four long weeks of space travel – on the ISS Dragon accompanying the Phoenix as an honor guard. For security reasons until the treaty was signed, the Dragon was required to remain out of weapon’s distance from Tamor, which meant Arthur boarded the Phoenix and left Leon in charge of his ship until he returned. He had been anxious to finish up the treaty portion of this trek ever since he received the message from Will, Percy, and Lance narrowing down Merlin’s possible locations. The three left Tamor on a ship (that Will decided to call the Harpy) at that point and headed out into the cosmos to start the search. As far as he knew in their four weeks of search, they had not come across any signs of Merlin yet. Lance babbled on in a message about Will had created some device to amplify magical signatures and it was speeding up the search, but they had still only covered one-eighth of the possible area. Arthur desperately wished to join them. He felt like every day now that he and Merlin were apart was pushing their luck and chances of being together again. It had already been four months and it had been even longer before that since Merlin’s last controlled Arisan.

The docking protocol commands were coming over the loudspeaker. The ISS Phoenix would dock at the space station and they would travel the remaining distance in a smaller shuttle. Ships like the Phoenix were too large to get out of escape velocity from a planet. When the ship was successfully docked on the station, Arthur, Emperor Godwyn, and the rest of the entourage traveling to the planet entered two separate shuttles that undocked from the ISS Phoenix.

They were greeted at the landing platform with fanfare, crowds, and a parade. Bayard and Godwyn both spoke words about their hopes for the future with this treaty. It was a long day of hand shaking and bowing and political niceties before Arthur was shown to his room in the Mercian palace where his bags had beaten him. The schedule only had four more days of this before he could go look for Merlin.

On day two, both parties sat down and delved into the meat of the treaty – breaking it down word by word and arguing about the verbiage. Arthur didn’t have much energy left at the end of the second day, but he vaguely noted that the dinner acrobat entertainers were quite good. The third day followed the same routine as the second. The late afternoon was broken up by a tour of Tamor where the Albion representatives were shown the sacred sights of Tamor – the Tamor watchtower, a large spire stacked in layers rising above the city, and a beautiful ancient temple built into an oasis of waterfalls right above the crystal clear ocean waters that edged the side of the city. They also toured the Tamor zoo, where Arthur saw unique creatures such as the manticore, which had the body of a lion, tail like a scorpion, and a face like a man with very sharp teeth and golden eyes. Arthur enjoyed the sightseeing, and he knew it was necessary to get everyone’s mind off the work for a while to be able to start fresh for day four, but he felt that it just postponed his time to go after Merlin. All the sights were viewed through the lens of anxiousness and he fell into bed on the third day just as exhausted as day one and two.

On day four, headway was made in the agreements between the two galactic federations. Parts of the treaty were revised or edited out and by the end of the fourth day a final draft of the treaty was sent to be drafted officially. For the first night, Arthur fell asleep without tossing and turning. The next night he would be able to start his search for Merlin. Day five was met with lots of fanfare and pageantry as the two Emperor read the finalized treaty and signed their agreement. There was a great feast to celebrate the occasion for lunch. Arthur made his excuses after the meal and Godwyn sent him away with his best wishes.

As soon as the treaty was signed, it was alright for the ISS Dragon to dock at the Tamor space station. Not an hour after the feast, Arthur was back on his ship, ready to go. He had been waiting four months to be able to go search directly like this. “Elyan – prepare to undock.”

Elyan flipped a couple switches. “Ready captain.”

“Undock in three two one…” Arthur almost screamed in frustration when the space station docking mechanism failed to release the ship. It took another hour for the Tamorian space station crews to repair the docking arm so that the ISS Dragon could take off. “Alright – take two. Prepare to undock.”

Same switches were flipped a second time. “Ready.”

“Undock in three two one.” Arthur sighed in relief when the ship separated smoothly from the space station. “Set coordinates to rendezvous with the Harpy.”

* * *

 

Over the month Merlin had been in the city, he came to really value Mithian’s companionship. She was smart and funny. They could have deep conversations about intergalactic politics one moment and a belching contest after lunch the next. She showed him how her people used magic to better their standard of living, harnessing the magical energy put into the trees back to generate electricity. “Of course, Nelia disapproves,” said Mithian as they walked, “But it provides a good life to all my people, even those without magic, so I see the necessity. With you here though, I’m sure the trees don’t mind. They seem to have plenty of magic to spare.”

Currently they were on their way to the circle in the trees used for the Arisan. Merlin had been siphoning off his energy to the trees as much as he could, but the trees close to the city had reached what appeared to be their capacity limit, so Merlin was forced to trek further and further from the city to relieve his magic. He decided, for better or worse, that it was time for an Arisan. There were only so many times he could meditate his magic down to a happy state.

The trees stopped abruptly as they entered the circular clearing. Large yellow boulders marked the edges of the circle. Mithian halted just before the edge of the stones. “Should I stay?”

“That’s up to you,” Merlin said, “Apparently my Arisan is always somewhat of a sight to behold, but I’ll also warn you that I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“I will stay. You can always draw strength in having a friend nearby. Remember, the trees around here are maintained at lower magic states, so they always have plenty of capacity if needed. And Merlin - if it comes to it – the Dead Lands.”

Merlin nodded solemnly and stepped forward into the circle. Mithian backed up and sat with her back against a tree to watch. Merlin meditated for a long while, wanting to make sure that everything was just right before he performed his Arisan. There were no do-overs, no rescue here. He took his mind off that as he fell deeper into his meditation until it was him and his magic.

Mithian hovered on the edge of a nap as she watched Merlin meditate. She almost gasped in surprise when Nelia appeared beside her out of the trees, but managed to keep quiet so as not to disturb Merlin. Nelia grasped Mithian’s hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

The magic rose as static between the stones, a bright white flickering light. It rose into a solid wall of color with the occasional spark leaping out to arc across the surface at another point. It was almost difficult to see Merlin through the wall of color, as if it were an actual solid wall. The wall curved up until was a complete hemisphere around Merlin. Slowly the color changed to the next level starting up from the bottom until all the white was gone and it was a solid yellow wall. Merlin continued through the colors purple, brown, red – each slowly entering from the bottom as if pushing the previous color out the top – black, silver, gold. Each color crackled away from the hemisphere in giant ropes of energy that stretched out and bent back to the wall. Mithian held her breath in incredulousness as Merlin’s gold dome was inched out by pearly rainbow white. And once again he progressed through the colors, until it reached a pearly silver gray. Multiple arcs of energy formed across the dome.

Merlin knew when he reached the maximum edge of his magic, but he couldn’t let it go. This would be his best chance to contact Arthur – while the stones were magnifying the magic. It was worth a shot. He wasn’t sure how Arthur would ever find him if he didn’t try. He gathered his magic at the top of the dome until it was all centered at the tip, crackling off the stones in giant arcs that met above his head. And then he pushed.

* * *

 

Will was watching the screen of the scanner when it began showing off the chart readings. “I think I’ve found him!” he yelled excitedly. Will hurriedly wrote down the coordinates.

“It’s him?” Lance asked excitedly.

“With these readings? It has to be him.” Will watched the monitor for a second more before the giant grin on his face froze.

“What is it?” Percy asked quickly.

Will paused for a split second more as if unsure what to do. “We have to get out of here. Now! Lance haul ass. Shit Merlin.” Will’s voice cracked on Merlin’s name.

Lance leapt across the ships room into the pilot’s chair and hurled the ship around into overdrive. Punching it as quickly as he could.

“Faster Lance!” Will yelled.

“Going as fast as it can go!” Lance said tersely. Tense silence fell on the three man crew except for the loud vibrations of the ship as Lance floored it.

Nobody said what was on their minds until Percy suddenly spoke up after a minute, “We need to call Arthur… so they can outrun it.”

Will nodded and dialed out the call numbers for the ISS Dragon. “Will!” Gwaine greeted cheerfully. “What’s the –“

“Put Arthur on now!”

Gwaine obviously sensed his urgency because not a second later Arthur’s voice echoed through the speaker. “Will?”

“Arthur – Merlin – he – ” Will’s voice gave out so Percy grabbed the microphone from him. “Will’s monitor caught a surge of magic. It could only be from Merlin he claims. At first we thought we found him, but Arthur – it’s an Alíese. We’re trying to outrun it, but we might not make it. You have time though. If you turn around now.”

Arthur’s heart almost gave out. He was too late. By less than a day. And three of his men were like sitting ducks next to the surge. He didn’t know what to say. He looked over to Leon in a loss for words. He had put them on speaker originally thinking Will had good news, so everyone on the deck heard. For once, Leon didn’t know how to save his commanding officer. It was silent on both ends of the radio except for the creaking sound of Will’s ship echoing across the speaker as it was put to its limits.

Arthur’s decision was made a split second later. “I… can’t.”

Leon stepped forward uncertainly, “Arthur –”

“I can’t leave him,” Arthur said, heart in his throat. “I can’t ask you to stay with me. Get the ship out of here. I’m going in a pod.”

“Arthur –” Leon started again.

Arthur jumped out of his seat and started running out of the room. “That’s an order, lieutenant! Leon is acting captain.”

The deck watched as the doors slammed shut behind Arthur. The deck fell into disorder as everyone yelled at once. “Stop him!” Gwaine cried.

“Order!” Leon’s voice carried over all the other voices. “Arthur has the right to make this decision for himself. Prepare to turn around.”

The deck crew watched as Arthur slid into a pod and jettisoned out into space. Gwaine stood yelling at Leon the entire time Elyan turned the ship around. “Full speed, Eylan,” Leon said quietly.

Arthur opened a communication line to the Harpy. “Will.”

“You stupid, asshole!” Will screamed across the speaker. “How dare you sacrifice yourself like this. You know Merlin would want you –”

There was the sound of a scramble as the mic was taken away from Will. “Arthur. We’re three minutes to your position at this speed,” Lance said – always calm under pressure.

“Keep going,” Arthur said, “Do not stop.”

“Yes sir, captain.”

The three minutes seemed to stretch endlessly. Arthur didn’t even see the ship pass it was moving so quickly. “Will, how long until the surge reaches me?”

“Forty seconds,” Will said brokenly.

Arthur nodded, as if they could seem him and ended the communicator connection.

He saw it in the distance. It wasn’t a steady wall of color like before. Instead it was just a straight pillar of pearly silver gray energy. It was coming straight for him. Arthur frowned at it, before realizing at the last second and throwing open wide the doors of the bond. He existed in no space as the bond echoed down the line that Merlin had thrown him across the galaxies.

_‘Merlin?’_

_‘Arthur,’_ Merlin sighed through the bond – the word almost like a caress and a prayer _. ‘Nemeth. Find me. T _hank fuck. I_ love you.’_

Arthur couldn’t stop the tears of relief that streamed down his face. _‘I love-‘_ Merlin cut the line before he could finish. Arthur almost laughed. He had missed Merlin so much.

Arthur dialed up both the Harpy and the ISS Dragon. He couldn’t stop the sound of the grin in his words as he spoke. “Turn around. Set course for Nemeth. And pick me up on your way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry- this chapter really got away from me, but with all the bad weather lately, I've really had nothing else to do but write. So just think of the time between this chapter and the previous as if you were Arthur waiting for your chance to go find your love. ;) I appreciate all comments & questions about the chapter, worlds, etc.


	6. Home

The _ISS Dragon_ was too large to land on Nemeth. They circled around the planet looking for signs of civilization until finally Merlin answered Arthur through the bond and directed them. Although everyone wanted to go down to the surface, only a few could fit on the _Harpy_. Arthur, Will, Percy, Lance, Gwaine, and Leon boarded the plane. Arthur wished he could say he remembered the flight, but he and Merlin spent the whole time they were within range telling each other dirty sweet nothings through the bond.

“Arthur!” Gwaine yelled.

‘… _and then I’m going to lick –_ ‘ Arthur broke off to look at Gwaine. “What?” he asked irritably.

“Where do we land?”

“Oh right…. Hold on.” Arthur couldn’t stop himself from still glaring at Gwaine as he contacted Merlin again through the bond. ‘ _Merlin?’_

‘ _Way to leave a man hanging…’_ Merlin pouted.

‘ _Uh… sorry. Gwaine wants to know where to land._ ’

Merlin gave him the coordinates.

‘ _Do we need to watch out for any hostile natives or wildlife?’_

Merlin huffed a laugh. ‘ _Just an irritated warlock pulled out of a lovely fantasy to be asked where to land a ship…_ ’

‘ _Oh it’s not a fantasy, Merlin. That was foreshadowing.’_ Arthur cut off the bond, not giving Merlin a chance to reply.

The first thing Arthur noticed was how much weight Merlin had lost over the past months. The edges of his face were sharper and his cheeks seemed a bit hollower. Relief was evident in his face as he launch himself across the distance into Arthur’s arms. Arthur felt the wetness of Merlin’s cheek against his neck. “Hey, you’re safe now. I’ve got you.” Merlin nodded into his shoulder and took a deep breath before pulling back to look at Arthur.

Merlin wasn’t the only one who had changed. Arthur had bags under his eyes from endless nights lying awake worrying. His forehead was more wrinkled and Merlin could see a gray hair hidden among the blond. “You look like shit,” Merlin said finally.

Arthur huffed, but didn’t reply – though he could’ve mentioned how much lighter Merlin was in his arms or how he could feel every one of Merlin’s ribs with the hand on Merlin’s back. Merlin grinned at him faintly, as the happiness at seeing Arthur was mixed with relief and sadness at the same time.

Arthur pulled him close for a kiss. “I won’t ever let you go again,” he said against Merlin’s lips, staring deep into his eyes.

Merlin scoffed, “It’s not like you allowed me to be taken….” Merlin’s words faded. “Arthur – wait, no – you cannot – _cannot_ – blame yourself for this. There was nothing to be done… I’m just glad you’re here.”

Arthur swallowed his own words and nodded. The bond, which had been strained – hollow and empty – the last few months, finally felt at peace as soon as Merlin touched him. He could feel the magic circulating between their bodies, subconsciously exchanged through the bond. Arthur pulled back to looked around. Merlin had arrived with a small company of native Nemethians. Arthur quickly took in their colorful, loose clothing and the way a few of them stood protectively beside the brown haired women. “Merlin – introductions?”

“Uh…” Merlin reluctantly stepped out of Arthur’s arms. “Arthur, allow me to introduce Queen Mithian Drakarin.” Arthur’s eyes rose, but he didn’t say anything and he bowed slightly, just enough to honor her as a queen of another planet, but not enough to state he was below her. Merlin continued speaking, “Mithian, this Arturo Pendrakan, crown prince of the Drakan, and my soul bonded.” Mithian curtseyed slightly back to him.

Mithian smiled at them, “Welcome Prince Arthur. I speak for all of Nemeth when I say that we are glad you have found your way here to Merlin. I don’t think our trees could have handled much more of his magic.”

“Trees?” Arthur asked curiously. Where they had landed was a wide open grassy plain. Merlin pointed vaguely in the near distance – and Arthur could see the tree line abruptly begin.

 _‘The trees siphon their magic. Arthur – the people here on Nemeth are from the wreck of the long lost Draka ship,’_ Merlin explained through the bond. “Come on, the Nemethians have prepared a feast in their city for reestablishing contact with the outside world. Don’t want to be late.”

Arthur hadn’t thought they would do more than pick Merlin up and be on their way, but his diplomatic upbringing kept him from revealing his surprise – and disappointment.  As they headed to the small vehicles, Arthur wondered how long they would have to stay before he and Merlin could sneak away without being rude.

The feast was lovely. Arthur was regaled with the tales of the Nemethian people. Merlin and Will, being the only two who knew old Drakarian, acted as translators for Arthur and the other Drakan. Mithian was highly amusing and a wonderful host, but that didn’t stop Arthur and Merlin from leaving as soon as possible. Merlin tugged him along the grand hallways of the royal palace until they reached his room for the past month. They wasted no time or words. As soon as the door closed behind them, they were all over each other, stripping articles of clothing as they headed to the bed.

It didn’t take them long to find a rhythm – both their bodies moved with the ebb and flow of the magic pumping through their veins. Their panted breaths and moans filled the silence of the room and Merlin’s glowing eyes lit the darkness. Their release was more than that – they felt the bond snap into place realigning the drift that had developed in their months apart. They laid beside each other, catching their breath as Merlin’s long fingers danced a pattern on Arthur’s chest.

“You lost so much weight,” Arthur said quietly.

Merlin’s fingers stilled. “I crashed on Nemeth about two months ago… before that I don’t know much. They kept me drugged.”

Arthur cursed in his head. “You were missing for over four months.”

Merlin’s fingers pressed hard into Arthur’s skin as he tensed for a split second before they disappeared as Merlin sat up. Arthur quickly followed suit and wrapped a comforting arm around Merlin. Merlin pressed his palms into his eyes and rubbed his face. “I didn’t know,” Merlin said softly. “I could only guess at the date, since Nemeth tracks time differently.” Arthur remained silent, waiting for Merlin to continue. “I remember short snippets of things – sounds, smells – whenever the latest dose of drugs was starting to wear out before they gave me the next. Never saw anything – was blindfolded for most of it. The drug… Arthur, it was awful. It made me so hazy that even though I knew my magic was there, it was like my brain couldn’t focus on it enough to use it.”

Arthur learned in the early days of their relationship that Drakarin magic required a certain kind of concentration to hold it in properly and direct it to a goal. A loss of concentration is what led to accidents and the Alíese took over. Learning to focus and meditate was the reason Drakarin children had magical seals and blocks until they were old enough to control their minds and thoughts. Arthur rubbed Merlin’s tense shoulders. He wished he didn’t have to ask Merlin to relive his memories, but there was no other way. Arthur had to know in order to track down the criminals who had done this. The attempted assassination on Gawant, Nimueh’s disappearance and death, and Merlin’s kidnapping - all the incidents were from the same group, Arthur was sure of it.

“Tell me – from the beginning,” Arthur directed, squeezing Merlin’s shoulders to give him strength and comfort. Merlin nodded and began.

An hour later, Merlin drifted to sleep, exhausted at reliving the memories – trying to search through the overwhelming drug addled haze of the memories to key in on important details – the clues that might help them bring this group down. Arthur laid awake, thinking about the things Merlin told him. There were only a few details that stood out as useful hints for finding the self-titled Knights of Medhir. Merlin’s memories verified the connection to Sarrum and Amata. The only new hint was a title: the Witchfinder.

Arthur didn’t know what that meant, but he was going to find out and they would regret targeting Merlin as Arthur took them down.

* * *

They left Nemeth a week later. Arthur, Merlin, and Mithian spoke extensively about maintaining communication with Nemeth and left Mithian a long range communicator. Unfortunately, since Nemeth was in a Mercian galaxy, Arthur was limited on what he could do to change the planet’s status to open official communication and trade with Nemeth. He promised to speak with the Mercian emperor about the small planet.

“You’ll need to learn common tongue to begin diplomacy with other planets. You might start thinking about what you want for this planet when you open it to the rest of the galaxies,” Merlin told Mithian casually at lunch one day. “You get into trade of any sort of natural resources and it could cause more damage than you intend. The trees, for example, must remain protected.”

“There’s always tourism,” Will suggested. “Nemeth is a relatively untouched oasis compared to other industrialized planets.”

“Even tourism has a price,” Merlin said.

Mithian narrowed her eyes in thought and nodded, “Yes, the people of Nemeth will consider and decide what is best for us.” Mithian promised to call them whenever they decided the best course for their planet.

Merlin was relieved to be on the _ISS Dragon_ again. They docked the _Harpy_ in the receiving bay and found a welcome party greeting him on the other side of the receiving bay doors. The entire ship was relieved to see their prince in one piece. A unanimous decision had them setting course for Draka while Arthur worked out the official details to get them a few weeks of R&R. It would take six weeks of travel to get back to Draka, so there was time for Arthur to work on getting the official say-so. It was in their favor that by the fourth week of travel they would be due for a mandatory ground leave by the total number of days on-board since the ISS Dragon was considered a short-term mission ship.

Hunith and Balinor were so relieved to hear from him. It took almost an hour before Hunith calmed down enough to update them on the progress of the investigations on Nimueh’s disappearance. It turned out that she had been on her way to visit with Uther, who had reached out to her to try to make amends, when she disappeared. Uther didn’t have any more information other than she never arrived in Avalon where they agreed to meet.

Merlin quickly got back to working in the medical ward because he found it better to keep himself busy than dwell on the past few months. He didn’t want to think about how long he must have been on that pod. Arthur told him that they had been told his pod had been stranded only three days after he was taken, which meant that Merlin had drifted in space for nearly two months before the pod crashed into Nemeth. There were several things that didn’t line up for Merlin or Arthur with this story. If the kidnappers abandoned the pod quickly because they were worried about Merlin’s magic exploding within a week as Nimueh’s had, then why did the pod have such a long supply of IV fluids and drugs?

Arthur had several ideas behind Merlin’s disappearance, but they were only that – ideas. Neither Arthur nor Merlin knew the real story. Ebor could have lied to Lance on Tamor, and Merlin was set adrift in the pod later than they expected, but that didn’t line up with the trajectory of the pod that set him crashing into Nemeth. Someone could have been in a secondary docked pod with him for a portion of the time, but there was no reasonable motive behind that theory.

All Arthur’s other ideas centered around Merlin’s magic. The thought that Merlin's magic acted on its own accord while he was unconscious was terrifying to Merlin. Some were a bit far-fetched – like Merlin must have time traveled. The most likely, and most terrifying – though Merlin was grateful if this story was the truth – was that Merlin’s magic had kept him alive once the drugs and IV ran out. The magic had woken him once it was safe – after the pod had crashed on Nemeth. Merlin didn’t want to think about the implications of this.

It was common consensus that magic users channeled the magic of the environment around them. The color levels indicated the amount of magic that was held constant in a user as the magic channeled in and out. Magic didn’t really care whether its user lived or died – as evidenced by the Drakarin’s tragic history of Alíese – but somehow, Merlin’s magic did care. It wouldn’t be the first time – Merlin vaguely remembered his discussion with Morgana when he stayed in Avalon on his first trip to Camelot. Morgana had insisted that the priests believed him dead and no one passed through the fires of an Alíese and lived – yet Merlin had done so twice.

It was too much to wrap his mind around, so he tried to keep his mind and hands busy in the medical ward. Of course, since they were only cruising across space, there wasn’t much to do in the medical ward either. A few people came in for checkups or complained of minor colds, space headaches (caused by the differential gravitation of the ship), or nausea. It wasn’t really enough to keep Merlin’s thoughts away. He really needed to talk to Morgana and Gaius.

At the same time that he wasn’t thinking about his magic, Merlin was also trying not to think too much about Arthur. He knew there was something Arthur wasn’t telling him and it was beginning to grate at his nerves. They had promised each other numerous times that they wouldn’t keep secrets from one another. Arthur would get up in the middle of the night to answer a call from Albion and when Merlin asked about it, Arthur would tell him, “It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”

At first, Merlin hadn’t noticed. He and Arthur had been so caught up in relearning each other’s bodies and the internal hum of their bond, that Merlin didn’t pay much attention to anything else for a while. But the excitement of their reunion wore off and Merlin noticed that Arthur was avoiding his eyes whenever certain topics were mentioned.

Merlin huffed as he mopped the medical bay floor for the third time that day – grateful for the distraction that Private Beech had brought when she showed up and vomited all over his freshly cleaned floors. The other medical bay attendants and nurses were unnerved when he requested they allow him to clean up again, but rather than argue with their superior, they stepped back and gossiped in the background about Private Beech’s pregnancy. Merlin guessed it would take another two hours before the whole ship knew about the expectant mother. Merlin hoped that Private Beech was able to tell Corporal Selme before he learned about it through the grapevine.

Merlin knew that he had to confront Arthur tonight about whatever secret Arthur was keeping or it would continue to fester inside him. When the end of his shift approached with no new patients, Merlin dismissed himself early and allowed his assistant to take over – not that there was anything she needed to actually do except report the turnover for the B shift crew.

Leaving early allowed Merlin to get back to his room before Arthur. As soon as he walked into the room, he put in a special request with the kitchen and ignored the raised eyebrow of the head cook. Merlin quickly showered and changed into casual non-uniform clothing and then cleaned up a bit around the room. For all Arthur’s type A approach to work, he really was quite a slob in his own space. Merlin put a tablecloth over the small dining table in their rooms. He placed a candle on the table, though he waited to light it – not wanting it to burn down before Arthur arrived. The food arrived on a cart a few minutes before he expected Arthur. Merlin set the dishes on the table and waited. As soon as he heard the lock click as the door opened for Arthur, Merlin lit the candle with magic and stood up.

Arthur stopped at the sight, mouth slightly hanging as he took in the table and Merlin’s clothing. “I thought we would have a date night,’ Merlin said by way of explanation. “But if you leave your mouth open any longer a fly might fly in and choke you and then I would have to do CPR and that would just ruin the mo–“

“Merlin,” Arthur interrupted, “It looks lovely. I wasn’t expecting this.”

“That’s kind of the point,” Merlin said wryly, before pulling out a chair and gesturing for Arthur to sit.

They ate dinner and casually talked, avoiding their new taboo topics – Merlin’s kidnapping and Arthur’s late night calls with Albion. The proverbial dragon in the room was puffing smoke over their shoulders with the way both were so careful not to mention anything related. Merlin kept the conversation going late until he suggested they watch one of the latest vids that was released on the Albion Fleet entertainment system. Arthur kept attempting to make moves during the movie, but Merlin subtly held him off. He wanted them to be busy later.

At the end of the movie, Merlin gave in to Arthur’s advances and it didn’t take long before they were on the bed. Arthur was deep in Merlin when the comm system in Arthur’s connecting office rang. Arthur looked up, irritation flashing across his face and he marginally pulled out.

“Ignore it,” Merlin said, pulling Arthur back to him. Arthur’s forehead creased, but he did as asked and continued on, ignoring the ring until it stopped. Ten seconds after the first ringtone stopped, a second call rang through. Arthur sighed and stilled, putting his head against Merlin’s shoulder momentarily until the second call finished ringing. “Move,” Merlin demanded. “You can call back later.”

Arthur took a deep breath and nodded, beginning the motions again, but Merlin could tell Arthur was going through the motions, but his mind was somewhere on something – or maybe even someone? – else. They finished and as they were breathing heavily through the post-haze, Merlin held the back of Arthur’s head. “Can we talk about this now? What are you keeping secret?”

Arthur stared deep into Merlin’s eyes, giving nothing away. “I… I – should call back. Could be important,” Arthur mumbled lamely.

“Arthur!” Merlin said with shock at Arthur’s obvious avoidance, reaching out for him as Arthur got off the bed.

“We’ll speak when I get back,” Arthur muttered tersely as he pulled on a shirt, bottom still bare as he walked into his office and the door shut behind him with a hiss of air.

Merlin huffed and collapsed back against the pillow. He really hadn’t expected this to go that way. He wriggled a bit on the bed to relieve the empty sensation, but it didn’t make a difference. Merlin growled in irritation. Who kept calling so late during their night? And what phone call could possibly be more important than leaving Merlin?

Merlin’s anger built the longer Arthur stayed behind the closed door and the haze of his orgasm faded until finally Merlin yanked his clothing back on. By the time Arthur padded back into the room, Merlin was full on angry. His eyes were glaring daggers and they halted Arthur in his tracks as soon as they were turned on him. “What. The. Fuck?” Merlin asked with a slight pause between each word to accentuate his irritation. “Was that necessary? For a phone call that you get every night?”

Arthur winced, “Merlin…”

“Don’t ‘Merlin’ me! I don’t care if that was the fucking Albion Emperor on the line!”

 Arthur was extremely glad they were on a ship where most items were strapped or bolted to the floors and walls, because everything not tied down was circling in a whirlwind around Merlin. He didn’t think it was a good time to tell Merlin that it had been the Emperor on the phone. He tried again, placating, “Merlin – 

“You think I can’t realize that you’re keeping secrets from me? You have ten seconds to explain yourself before I’m leaving.”

Arthur sighed heavily and pinched his nose. He knew Merlin had a lot on his mind and he hadn’t wanted to bother burden him with Arthur’s potential new political position. He frantically tried to think of the best way to word the news.

“Nine… Ten,” Merlin glared at him across the room. “Fine. If that’s how you want to play this. I can’t stay here tonight.”

“Wait!” Arthur called out, but Merlin was done with Arthur’s game. Merlin waved a hand at Arthur that sent him sliding back until his was pinned to the wall, before turning around toward the door, sending Arthur a disappointed look over his shoulder as he left. Arthur struggled against Merlin’s invisible bonds. “Merlin!”

The door slid shut with a hiss of air behind Merlin. Arthur pulled against the magic holding him immobile for another minute before he sagged as the bonds disappeared. As soon as he was free, Arthur tugged on some trousers and raced out of the room. The hallway was empty as to be expected. But where could Merlin have gone?

Arthur searched every place he could think of: Merlin’s office, the medical ward, command deck (Leon had been very surprised to see him up), meditation room, canteen, gym. He even banged on Will and Percy’s door until a sleep-mussed Will answered, yet Merlin was nowhere to be found. Arthur finally headed back to his room after an hour of searching, hoping he would find him, though the room was as it was when Arthur left it. In the back of his mind, Arthur couldn’t help but panic, remembering the last time he couldn’t find Merlin.

Arthur felt through the bond and was surprised to find it still open. ‘ _Merlin. Please let me explain.’_

’ _Clotpole,’_ Merlin’s voice echoed angrily across the bond. Merlin quickly cut the connection before Arthur could explain. He felt a bit childish, but he was stressed and angry. He rolled over on the bed in his room. He had never actually used his quarters on the ship and had moved in with Arthur from day one. As soon as he stepped out of the room earlier, he aimlessly wandered until he remembered his designated sleeping quarters, located on deck five in the far back of the ship. It was a sizable room, fitting his station on the ship, though it was a far walk from most everything else. The one nice thing was that it was on an exterior wall. The walls were special windows that could be darkened to look like a smooth wall, or turned to window mode to view the exterior. Merlin fell asleep watching the dark void outside.

* * *

Arthur reported for duty at the bridge for shift change with bags under his eyes. Leon frowned at him, but didn’t ask what had brought him to the command deck in the middle of the night. He didn’t want to drag his personal life into work – even though he desperately wanted Lance to track Merlin down for him. He went through all the motions – answering his messages, filling out the final pieces of the R&R paperwork, and then a maternity leave of absence request for Private Beech and Corporal Selme. Everything was relatively uneventful other than a cruiseliner hailing them to say hello as they passed each other.

He didn’t like this at all. He shifted in his seat for the sixth time that minute, anxious for Leon to arrive for turnover. He wanted to try to catch Merlin before he left the medical ward. Unfortunately, right as Leon showed up for his shift, Arthur got a call from HQ about the paperwork. It was another half hour before he was finally able to leave.

Merlin wasn’t at the medical bay by the time Arthur arrived. The attendants told Arthur that Merlin did not show up for duty that day. Not knowing where else to go anymore Arthur headed back to his quarters. Part of his brain automatically jumped to the panic he felt when he learned Merlin had been kidnapped. But this was different, Arthur could still feel the bond and the proximity of Merlin, even if the communication line was closed. He rubbed his eyes in frustration. To think that there used to be a time when this was the normal feeling of the bond before he had learned how to talk through it. Tomorrow, he would break down and call Merlin to the bridge. If Merlin didn’t show, he would have Lance track him down.

His quarter doors hissed open and Arthur stepped inside, freezing when he saw the figure hunched over on his bed holding the Arthur action figurine Merlin picked up from the docking station when their adventure away from Draka first began. Arthur had forgotten about the small toy until he saw it in Merlin’s hands. That had been a simpler time for them – when Draka was still mostly cordoned off from the rest of space.

Merlin looked up at the sound of the door. “I’m sorry –“ they both said at the same time. Merlin smiled humorlessly, “You first.”

Arthur took a deep breath and rushed toward Merlin. He knelt down in front of him and placed his hands on top of Merlin’s around the action figure. “I really, truly, am sorry for any pain I’ve caused. I’ve had a topic to discuss with you since we found you on Nemeth. At first, I didn’t want to burden you – I wasn’t sure how much the kidnapping had affected you emotionally and I didn’t want to put more strain on you in containing your emotions – and magic.”

Merlin nodded and waited for Arthur to continue. It was so typical of Arthur – to make assumptions and then think that he was in the right because it was to protect someone.

“Three months after your kidnapping, I was in Gawant. We had just sealed the agreement for a peace treaty with Mercia. Making peace was the only way I knew I could cross the border to follow after you, so that’s all I worked on day and night for three months. In that time, I guess Emperor Godwyn saw something in me that he liked. Merlin, he asked me if I would be his heir – be the next Emperor of Albion.”

Merlin’s jaw dropped a little and his fingers paused on tracing the lines of the action figure. “What?” he asked not-so-intelligently.

“Godwyn said his only other considered option was Annis, but she was too old. He told me it was my choice. I said that I would have to speak with you first. I suppose I’ve been really avoiding telling you because I’m not sure what I want you say. I’m not sure what I even want myself and I've been using not telling you as an excuse to keep Godwyn at bay.” Arthur met Merlin’s eyes and Merlin could see the lost and panicked emotion Arthur strained to keep buried.

Merlin pulled one hand out of Arthur’s to set the action figure aside and then cupped Arthur’s face with both hands. “Oh, my crazy, stubborn, admirable dragon prince. We’ll figure it out.” Merlin kissed Arthur gently and tugged him into the bed. “Let’s sleep on it.”

* * *

Merlin and Arthur talked the better half of the morning about Arthur’s potential title. They both slept through any late night calls that Albion made. Arthur gave Lance control of the bridge during the day shift, so he could speak with Merlin unbothered. They weighed every pro and con until finally Merlin sighed, “Arthur, if you are holding out on saying that you want this because you worry about how it may affect me, then we are only going in circles.”

Arthur gave him a withering look. “It’s more than that and you know it.”

“The true burden of this falls to you. You’ve already had quite a tough time doubling as senator – mainly because you’re a workaholic.” Arthur’s glare returned. “–And you know that I’m going to be with you no matter what you do, so you can’t be worried that I’m going to pack up and leave based on your decision either way.”

“I only want you to be happy,” Arthur said urgently.

“And I the same for you,” Merlin replied, “So really, Arthur, what I’m asking is will this make you happy?”

Arthur thought about it, turning over in his mind all the things they discussed earlier. A few topics stuck out in particular – the empire’s view on magic users, the group out to get Merlin, and Nemeth. With the emperor position, Arthur would be able to restore relations with Nemeth and even broker agreements that Nemeth be considered part of Albion due to its people’s ties with Draka. Most importantly, Arthur could change the views on powerful magic users and hunt down the Knights of Medhir. Eliminating the threats to Merlin and restoring Drakan relations to Nemeth would make him happy. Of course there was more to the job than that, but having the power to make sure Merlin was always be protected and safe would be enough for him.

“Yes,” Arthur said finally. “It would make me happy. I want this.”

Docking at the Essetir station above Draka was one of the best feelings in the world to Merlin. It had been too long since he had been home. Arthur wasn’t surprised when Merlin declared Ealdor as their first stop.

Hunith was lovely as ever and welcomed them joyously. After releasing Merlin from her hug, she turned to Arthur and wrapped him in her arms in the most motherly hug Arthur ever had. “Thank you for bringing my boy back,” she said in Arthur’s ear.

“I couldn’t live without him,” Arthur told her honestly.

Hunith smiled and pulled back to arm’s length to peer up at him. Arthur secretly wished he could have stayed in her arms a while longer, craving the motherly affection he never received. “I knew you boys would be good for each other,” Hunith said, “A mother always knows.” She tapped her nose.

Arthur chuckled, “Well thank goodness for your intuition or else we would have never found each other.”

Later that night, after the dinner held in their honor was over, Merlin and Arthur lay in each other’s arms in Merlin’s old room. A soft wind blew in through the open walls swaying the gossamer curtains. Arthur kissed the head of the dragon bondmark over Merlin’s heart. “I spoke with Emperor Godwyn today.”

“And?” Merlin asked, carding his fingers through Arthur’s hair.

“We have to go back to Gawant for the official ceremony, and then our first imperial task is to decide where we would like to build the next Albion.”

Merlin hummed, “Can we figure it out in the morning? I think I might be ready again for some other activities…”

“Already?” Arthur asked incredulously.

Merlin moved his hand to Arthur’s shoulders and Arthur felt the push as Merlin shoved enough magic through the bond to make Arthur’s blood boil. “You’re not?” Merlin asked innocently. Arthur glared at the Drakarin prince as he smiled back mischievously. “Oh, your majesty, I believe I can take care of that little problem for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, so I finished this installment. I suppose you could say I was inspired to finish writing this chapter after seeing the latest Star Trek, which obviously is a big contributor to the space themes of the story. It's mostly been written for a while, I just never got around to finishing it like I wanted. At first I had the fight between Merlin and Arthur blown out of proportion and it just didn't feel right. Then you know... distractions and such. Can't promise anything else soon, but maybe my inspiration will stick around a while longer. Hope you enjoy this!
> 
> Special shout out to LadyLace who promised that she would pull a Merlin and wait forever on the next chapter. Well, it's finally here. Hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
